研究发现当归芍药散（DSS）能改善阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者和动物的认知功能障碍，痴呆病机为本虚标实，本虚为肾精亏损和气血不足，标实为痰浊阻窍和气滞血瘀，DSS具有补本虚、祛标实特点。本课题前期研究发现DSS能减少动物脑内β淀粉样蛋白（Aβ）含量，并能提高其中的有效成分欧当归内酯的生物利用度。药物被机体吸收达到一定浓度是其发挥药效的前提，本课题运用生物方剂分析药理（BAP）研究策略，分析DSS的血中转移成分，寻找DSS中吸收的生物活性成分（ABC）,探讨DSS对其ABC生物利用度的影响，并从促进细胞内Aβ清除及调节Aβ导致线粒体功能紊乱角度，深入探讨DSS及其ABC的神经保护作用机制（Aβ为AD发病核心因素，尚无DSS对其作用报道）。本课题既从药物对机体，又从机体对药物作用角度，较全面地诠释DSS抗AD药理作用机制，在研究思路与内容上均有创新性，为中药复方组方科学性和合理性提供新的实验依据。

Dangdui-Shaoyao-San (DSS) was found to improve cognitive dysfunction of patients and model animals of Alzheimer's disease (AD).The pathogenesis of Chinese medicine for the dementia was considered as "deficiency in origin and excess in superficiality"."Deficiency in origin" means kidney essence deficiency and insufficiency of Qi-Blood, while "Excess in superficiality" means phlegm retention in head and Qi Blood stasis. DSS is capable of "reinforce insufficiency and reduce excessiveness". Our preceding research found that DSS could decrease the content of β-amyloid protein (Aβ) in the brain of senescence accelerated mouse, and enhance the bioavailability of Levistilide, a effective component of DSS, afer oral administration of DSS. Basied on the theory that being absorbed to reach a certain concentration is the first step of drug action and in the guidelines of bioethnopharmaceutical analytical pharmacology (BAP) research strategy, our team will analyze the compound of DSS in blood to discover the absorbed bioactive compound (ABC) of DSS; study the effect of DSS on the bioavailability of it's ABC; discover the effect of DSS and its ABC on the efflux of intracellular Aβ to protect mitochondria dysfunction against Aβ's toxicity (there is still no paper about the effect of DSS on Aβ which is the leading cause of AD). Our study will reveal the mechanism of DSS on AD basied on the effects of drug on the body as well as that of body on the drug, which is innovative on the ideas and pharmacological mechanism and will provide new experimental basis to prove the scientificity and rationality of Traditional Chinese Medicine.