36
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Ginkgo biloba extract and its flavonol and terpenelactone fractions do not affect beta-secretase mRNA and enzyme activity levels in cultured neurons and in mice.

      Planta medica
      Alzheimer Disease, drug therapy, enzymology, Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases, biosynthesis, Animals, Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases, Cells, Cultured, Female, Flavonols, administration & dosage, pharmacology, therapeutic use, Ginkgo biloba, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Transgenic, Neurons, drug effects, Phytotherapy, Plant Extracts, Plant Leaves, RNA, Messenger, analysis

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Numerous clinical trials have reported beneficial effects of the Ginkgo biloba extract EGb761 in the prevention and therapy of cognitive disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although neuroprotective properties of EGb761 have been consistently reported, the molecular mechanisms of EGb761 and the specific role of its major constituents, the flavonols and terpenlactones, are largely unknown. One major hallmark of AD is the deposition of amyloid-beta (A beta) as amyloid plaques in the brain. A beta is a cleavage product of amyloid precursor protein (APP). Certain proteases, called beta-secretases (BACE), are crucial in the formation of A beta. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of EGb761 and its flavonol and terpenelactone fraction to modulate BACE-1 enzyme activity and mRNA levels in vitro and in vivo. Neither EGb761 nor its fractions affected BACE-1 activity in vitro. Furthermore, also in Neuro-2a cells and wild-type as well as transgenic (Tg2576) laboratory mice, no significant effect of EGb761 on BACE-1 enzyme activity and mRNA levels were observed. Current findings suggest that BACE-1 may not be a major molecular target of EGb761 and its flavonol and terpenelactone fraction.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Comments

          Comment on this article