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Alzheimers disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no cure.Huperzine A (HupA) is a natural inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) derived from the Chinese folk medicine Huperzia serrata (Qian Ceng Ta).It is a licensed anti-AD drug in China and is available as a nutraceutical in the US.A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that HupA has multifaceted pharmacological effects.In addition to the symptomatic, cognitive-enhancing effect via inhibition of AChE, a number of recent studies have reported that this drug has "non-cholinergic" effects on AD.Most important among these is the protective effect of HupA on neurons against amyloid beta-induced oxidative injury and mitochondrial dysfunction as well as vi a the up-regulation of nerve growth factor and antagonizing N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors.The most recent discovery showed that the neuroprotective effect of HupA was derived from a novel action on brain iron regulation.