## 1 Introduction  
Plants and natural products are indeed rich sources of biologically active compounds that can be applicable in the discovery and development of new medicines against various diseases. African mistletoes (Loranthaceae) are hemi-parasitic plants that grow on many tree crops including citrus species and a variety of other plants with economic and medicinal values [1]. These plants depend on their host mainly for water and mineral nutrients [2]. Additionally, the host constituents may be exchanged with the mistletoes and vice versa, therefore enhancing their medicinal properties. In fact, according to traditional medicine practices, mistletoes growing on guava, kola nuts and citrus are mostly used for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, hypertension, nervousness and insomnia, while those growing on cocoa are specifically efficient against hyperglycemia [3]. African mistletoes are known as \"all-purpose plants\" because they were beneficial in folklore medicine as a remedy for many health problems [4]. An investigation carried out to interview 150 traditional healers on the medicinal uses of hemi-parasitic plants growing in Cameroon led to the identification of _Phragmanthera capitata_ and _Globimetula dinklagei_, which are recommended for the treatment of 22 different diseases, including convulsions, nerves attacks, diabetes, epilepsy, back pains, kidney pains, chronic muscular pains, respiratory dysfunctions, headache, rheumat, dizziness, uterine haemorrhage, hypertension, menopause, heart palpitations, general purifications, irregular menstruations and nose bleeding [5]. On the other hand, _Tapinanthus baspwensis_ is used by most communities in Nigeria for the treatment of epilepsy, asthma, diabetes, blood pressure, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and breast and ovary cancers [6]. To date, various extracts, fractions and natural compounds from _T. bangwensis_, _G. dinklagei_ or _P. capitata_ have been evaluated for their antibacterial [6; 7], antioxidant [8; 9; 10], antipyretic and analgesic [11], hepatoprotective and hepatocurative [3; 12], steroidogenetic and spermatogenetic [13], anti-hyperglycaemic and anti-hyperproteinaemic [14], anti-hepatitis C virus [15], anti-diabetic [16] and anticancer [17] activities. Among their possible medicinal uses explored so far, African mistletoes have been used in the management of memory loss, a major cognitive hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) [18]. However, their biological effect against AD and inflammation models has not yet been studied. For this reason, these plants may represent potential sources for the discovery of new acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) and anti-inflammatory compounds. Approximately 40 million people, mostly older than 65 years, suffer from AD or related dementia [19]. The exact mechanism of AD is not completely elucidated, and full therapy has not yet been found. AD is known as a disease associated with the progressive degeneration of memory and cognitive functions due to a deficit of cholinergic function in the brain [20]. The loss of cholinergic function in the central nervous system has been proposed within the \"cholinergic hypothesis\" to contribute significantly to the cognitive decline observed in AD [21]. In fact, ACHE and butyrylcholinesteraseerase (BuChE) are two enzymes that play a crucial role in AD therapy by increasing the levels of brain acetylcholine (ACh) and therefore enhancing the deficient brain cholinergic neurotransmission [22]. ACHE is the main enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of the ACh into acetate and choline [23; 24]. Therefore, the inhibition of ACHE will result in the elevation of the ACh level within the brain and thus can serve as a strategy for the treatment of AD and other related diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Moreover, it is also known that inflammation can significantly contribute to the progression of AD, accelerating the appearance of the disease. The nitric oxide (NO) radical is recognized to play a central role in inflammatory and immune reactions [25; 26].