Alzheimer's disease is the most commonly seen progressive neurodegenerative disorders in elderly populations that represent a major factor for the prevalence of dementia in the aged population worldwide. We aimed in this study to investigate the promising effect of crude cardamom oil, as a neuroprotective agent in rats suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Cardamom essential oil (CEO) was extracted; analysis was carried out using a Hewlett-Packard coupled gas chromatography / mass spectrometry. Phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined. Forty albino male rats are randomized divided into four groups including normal control, Alzheimer's disease group and treated groups. Inflammatory and oxidative stress markers were estimated after the experimental period and also brain neurotransmitters were estimated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using ultraviolet (UV) detector that set at 270 nm.

The current results indicated that the mean value of tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α), amyloid precursor protein (APP) and amyloid beta (Aβ) were significantly increase due to the harmful effect of aluminum chloride (AlCl3) ,however these values were attenuated by cardamom essential oil and these effect was attributed to the high contents of alpha-terpinyl acetate (50.24 %) and eucalyptol (39%); in addition to a high value of flavonoids) 4.52 g of catechins/100 g of oil). Conclusion: cardamom essential oil offers a new strategy for the treatment of experimental Alzheimer's disease due to its high contents of anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.