G.P. Dubey* Aruna Agrawal

*Coordinator

Faculty of Ayurveda

Institute of Medical Sciences

Banaras Hindu University

Mental decline particularly memory loss is a universal consequence of advancing age. Cognitive decline and cognitive impairment which are associated with brain damage in old age also causes memory impairment . Marked decrease in choline acetyltransfarase and other markers of cholinergic neuron activity often take place in the ageing process. International measures of prevalence of dementia observed rate of 2.2 to 8.4 percent in all those over the age of 65 years, 10.2 to 16.0 percent after age 65 and 15.2 to 38.9 percent after age of 85 years.

Several modern psychotropic agents have been introduced to manage age related cognitive deficits but their long term application have neurologic, endocrine, allergic and metabolic side effects. Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoide) a plant grown in Himalayan region has shown its beneficial role in the prevention and management of age related several problems.

In the present series of investigation 65 demented ageds with an age range of 65-72 years were treated with the fresh juice of Seabuckthorn continuously for six months. A group of 32 demented ageds served as placebo control. The subjects were evaluated on Mini Mental State Examination including short and long term memory measurements.

The results clearly revealed that the fresh juice of Seabuckthorn in the dose of 1 ml diluted in 10 ml of water when given in a divided dose i.e. twice in a day arrested the further memory loss and improved the attention span. The loss of acetylcholine also checked following drug treatment. An overall improvement in cognitive functions under Seabuckthorn treatment appears to be an adjuvant remedial measure for age related memory and other cognitive deficits

Result shall be presented and discussed.