Lycopodium clavatum (Lyc) is a widely used homeopathic medicine for the liver, urinary and digestive disorders. Recently, acetyl cholinesterase (AchE) inhibitory activity has been found in Lyc alkaloid extract, which could be beneficial in dementia and memory impairment problems.

    Cerebral blood flow (CBF) carries various factors, mediators, nutrients and metabolites to meet the metabolic demands of brain cells. Neuronal activation favors increase in CBF for the responding local area.

Any obstruction in the cerebral blood flow CBF has been seen associated with cognition deficits or dementia. It is known that Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other types of dementia are associated with reduced cerebral blood flow due to vascular amyloidosis, oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction.

    Lycopodium clavatum (Lyc), commonly known as club moss, is the most widespread species in the genus Lycopodium of the family Lycopodiaceae. Extraction of crushed spores of Lyc as mother tincture  MT and as potencies  are  commonly used homeopathic medicines mainly for liver function, urinary and digestive disturbances, rheumatism, epilepsy and pulmonary disorders etc.

 A study by Calderón et al. (2013) has shown that Lyc has AchE inhibiting activity. AChE inhibitor like Donepezil is clinically used for the treatment of AD patients [1]

  Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive, neurodegenerative disorder of the brain characterized clinically by deterioration in the key symptoms of activities of daily living, behavior, and cognition.

The cholinergic hypothesis states that the cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease [AD] is secondary to deficits in central cholinergic neurotransmission1 resulting from a loss of acetylcholine (ACh).

Cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors enhance central cholinergic function by inhibiting the enzymes that degrade ACh, thereby increasing the availability of ACh to stimulate nicotinic and muscarinic receptors within the brain.[2]

 The study outcome shows that Lycopodium clavatum mother tincture[MT] and 200 potency showed improvement in learning and memory. There was increased cerebral blood flow  in STZ (ICV) treated rats at all the potencies of Lyc studied.

References

1.    Effect of homeopathic Lycopodium clavatum on memory functions and cerebral blood flow in memory-impaired rats Kashif Hanif, Manoj Kumar, Neetu Singh, Rakesh Shukla

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1475491614000800

2.    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4052996/