Anti-cholinesterase and Neuroprotective Activities of Sweet and Bitter Apricot Kernels (Prunus armeniaca L.)

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is a fruit cultivated in various parts of the world. Both sweet and bitter kernels of apricot have been used for the treatment of different diseases such as loss of memory in Iranian traditional medicine (ITM). In the present study, the inhibitory activity of sweet and bitter extracts of apricot kernels towards cholinesterase (ChE) enzymes, both acetyl and butyrylcholinesterase was examined through Ellman’s method. In addition, neuroprotectivity of aqueous extracts and amygdalin were investigated against H(2)O(2)-induced cell death in PC12 neurons. Among them, the best acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity (IC(50) = 134.93 ± 2.88 µg/mL) and neuroprotectivity (P-value < 0.0001) were obtained by the aqueous extract of bitter type. It was found that all extracts showed no butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activity.