Research Article Neuroprotective Effect of Ethanol Extract of Leaves of Malva parviflora against Amyloid-- (A-) Mediated Alzheimer’s Disease Muhammad Aslam 1 and Ali Akbar Sial 2 1 Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ziauddin University, Karachi 75600, Pakistan 2 Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ziauddin University, Karachi 75600, Pakistan Correspondence should be addressed to Muhammad Aslam; pharmacologist1@yahoo.com Received 30 August 2014; Revised 10 October 2014; Accepted 11 October 2014; Published 29 October 2014 Academic Editor: Mahendra P. Singh Copyright © 2014 M. Aslam and A. A. Sial. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Malva parvifora L. possesses signifcant antioxidant potential. Tis study was conducted to evaluate the neuroprotective efect of ethanol extract of the leaves of Malva parvifora against amyloid-- (A-) mediated Alzheimer’s disease. In Morris water maze model, the extract signifcantly restored the defected memory of amyloid- injected mice ( < 0.01). Te reduced levels of brain antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase were also restored signifcantly to similar levels as seen in normal control mice ( < 0.01). Te levels of lipid peroxidase were decreased signifcantly in treatment group mice when compared to Alzheimer group mice ( < 0.01). So, this study showed that ethanol extract of the leaves of Malva parvifora possesses neuroprotective activity in mice. 1. Introduction Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that 5% of males and 6% of females of age 60 years or above are afected with Alzheimer’s type dementia worldwide [1]. Oxidative stress has been a major cause of neurotoxicity in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Amyloid- (A) causes oxidative damage in brain which may lead to Alzheimer’s disease [2]. Malva parvifora L. (cheeseweed) family Malvaceae is a wonderful gif from nature for mankind. Tis plant has shown its pharmacological potential in diferent ailments. Leaves are used in the management of wounds and swelling. A lotion made from the leaves is used to treat bruises and broken limbs [3]. Te leaves of M. parvifora are used for drawing swollen, infamed purulent wounds [4]. Pharmacological studies show that Malva parvifora possesses antibacterial [5], antidiabetic [6], antifungal [7], and other activities. It is well known that plants have been a major source of natural antioxidants [8]. Malva parvifora is one of suchplants. Te plant contains favonoids and phenolic com- pounds [9]. Malva parvifora has shown signifcant antioxi- dant potential [10]. Based on the notion that antioxidant herbs and food are efective in the management of neurodegenerative diseases, we evaluated the neuroprotective efect of ethanol extract of the leaves of Malva parvifora in this study. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Te Collection of Plant Material. Fresh leaves of Malva parvifora L. were collected from Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan. A pharmacognosist of the Department of Pharmacognosy, Federal Urdu University, Pakistan, authenticated the sample. Voucher specimen (RP/PHARM/1390) was deposited in the institute for future reference. 2.2. Preparation of Ethanol Extract. Te leaves of Malva parvifora were shade-exsiccated under room temperature. Fine powder was prepared from 500 grams of the leaves. Te Hindawi Publishing Corporation International Scholarly Research Notices Volume 2014, Article ID 156976, 5 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/156976