Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T00:19:08.822Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of the standardized Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® on neuroplasticity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2012

Walter E. Müller*
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology, Biocenter, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany
Jeanine Heiser
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology, Biocenter, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany
Kristina Leuner
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology, Biocenter, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany Department of Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Walter Müller, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Biocenter, Goethe University, Marie-Curie Street 9, 60439, Frankfurt, Germany. Phone: +49 69 79829373; Fax: +49 69 79829374. Email: [email protected].

Abstract

Neuroplasticity, the ability of synapses to undergo structural adaptations in response to functional demand or dysfunctions is increasingly impaired in aging and Alzheimer's disease. EGb761® has been shown in several preclinical reports to increase nearly all aspects of impaired neuroplasticity (long-term potentiation, spine density, neuritogenesis, neurogenesis). While all three fractions of constituents (ginkgolides, flavonoids, bilobalide) seem to be active, the flavonoids and specifically the aglycone isorhamnetin seem to be most relevant.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdel-Kader, R. et al. (2007). Stabilization of mitochondrial function by Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761). Pharmacological Research, 65, 493502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckert, A., Keil, U., Scherping, I., Hauptmann, S. and Müller, W. E. (2005). Stabilization of mitochondrial membrane potential and improvement of neuronal energy metabolism by Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 1056, 474485CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garcia-Alloza, M., Borrelli, L. A., Hyman, B. T. and Bacskai, B. J. (2010). Antioxidants have a rapid and long-lasting effect on neuritic abnormalities in APP:PS1 mice. Neurobiology of Aging, 31, 20582068.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hof, P. R. and Morrison, J. H. (2004). The aging brain: morphomolecular senescence of cortical circuits. Trends in Neurosciences, 27, 607613.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ivanov, A., Esclapez, M., Pellegrino, C., Shirao, T. and Ferhat, L. (2009). Drebrin A regulates dendritic spine plasticity and synaptic function in mature cultured hippocampal neurons. Journal of Cell Science, 122, 524534.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kurz, C. et al. (2010).The metabolic enhancer Piracetam ameliorates the impairment of mitochondrial function and neurite outgrowth induced by ß-amyloid peptide. British Journal of Pharmacology, 160, 246257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lacour, M., Ez-Zaher, L. and Raymond, J. (1991). Plasticity mechanisms in vestibular compensation in the cat are improved by an extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb 761). Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior, 40, 367379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lazarov, O., Mattson, M. P., Peterson, D. A., Pimplikar, S. W. and van Praag, H. (2010). When neurogenesis encounters aging and disease. Trends in Neurosciences, 33, 569579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leuner, K. et al. (2007). Mitochondrial dysfunction: the first domino in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease? Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, 9, 16591675.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mattson, M. P. (2007). Mitochondrial regulation of neuronal plasticity. Neurochemical Research, 32, 707715.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mattson, M. P., Gleichmann, M. and Cheng, A. (2008). Mitochondria in neuroplasticity and neurological disorders. Neuron, 10, 748766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plaschke, K., Bergmann, M. and Kopitz, J. (2011). Ginkgo extract EGb 761® shields from slowly accumulating neurodegenerative-like changes in a newly developed cell culture model induced by the combined action of low doses of antimycin A1 and 2-deoxy-d-glucose. Journal of Neural Transmission, 118, 12471254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodriguez, J. J. and Verkhratsky, A. (2011). Neurogenesis in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Anatomy, 219, 7889.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sagara, Y., Vanhnasy, J. and Maher, P. (2004). Induction of PC12 cell differentiation by flavonoids is dependent upon extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation. Journal of Neurochemistry, 90, 11441145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tchantchou, F., Xu, Y., Wu, Y., Christen, Y. and Luo, Y. (2007). EGb 761 enhances adult hippocampal neurogenesis and phosphorylation of CREB in transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. FASEB Journal, 21, 24002408.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tchantchou, F. et al. (2009). Stimulation of neurogenesis and synaptogenesis by bilobalide and quercetin via common final pathway in hippocampal neurons. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 18, 787798.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, Y., Wang, L., Wu, J., Cai, J. (2006). The in vivo synaptic plasticity mechanism of EGb 761-induced enhancement of spatial learning and memory in aged rats. British Journal of Pharmacology, 148, 147153.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, B., Watanabe, C. M., Schultz, P. G., Rimbach, G. and Krucker, T. (2004). Age-related effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on synaptic plasticity and excitability. Neurobiology of Aging, 25, 955962.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xu, Y., Cui, C., Pang, C., Christen, Y. and Luo, Y. (2007). Restoration of impaired phosphorylation of cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (C REB) by EGb 761 and its constituents in Aβ-expressing neuroblastoma cells. European Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 29312939.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoo, D. Y. et al. (2011). Effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on promotion of neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus in C57BL/6 mice. Journal of Veterniary Medical Science, 73, 7176.Google ScholarPubMed
Zhang, L. Y. and Wang, , , Y. L. (2008). Effects of EGb 761 on hippocamal synaptic plasticitx of vascular dementia rats. Zhongguo Ying Yong Sheng Li Xue Za Zhi, 24, 3640.Google ScholarPubMed