No abstract

Extracts of Ginkgo biloba leaves are consumed as dietary supplements to counteract chronic, age-related neurological disorders. We have applied high-density oligonucleotide microarrays to define the transcriptional effects in the cortex and hippocampus of mice whose diets were supplemented with the herbal extract. Gene expression analysis focused on the mRNAs that showed a more than 3-fold change in their expression. In the cortex, mRNAs for neuronal tyrosine͞threonine phosphatase 1, and microtubuleassociated were significantly enhanced. Hyperphosphorylated is the major constituent of the neurofibrillary tangles in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients. The expression of ␣-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-2, calcium and chloride channels, prolactin, and growth hormone (GH), all of which are associated with brain function, were also up-regulated. In the hippocampus, only transthyretin mRNA was upregulated. Transthyretin plays a role in hormone transport in the brain and possibly a neuroprotective role by amyloid-␤ sequestration. This study reveals that diets supplemented with Ginkgo biloba extract have notable neuromodulatory effects in vivo and illustrates the utility of genome-wide expression monitoring to investigate the biological actions of complex extracts.

In the present study we investigated a possible involvement of the intestinal sodium-dependent glucose transporter (SGLT)1 in the absorption of quercetin-3-glucoside (Q3G). Pieces of rat jejunum or proximal colon were mounted in Ussing-type chambers and incubated under short-circuited conditions. Test flavonols were added to the mucosal or serosal bathing solution (initial concentration, 100 micromol/L) and disappearance from the donor compartment was monitored for 2 h. With jejunal tissue, only 13.6 +/- 3.5% of the initial dose of Q3G was found in the mucosal compartment 2 h after mucosal addition. Simultaneous addition of D-glucose (10 mmol/L) significantly reduced the disappearance of Q3G (remaining concentration, 33.4 +/- 6.9%) as did a Na(+)-free buffer solution containing phloridzin (final mucosal concentration of Q3G, 54.2 +/- 7.7%). In these experiments, disappearance of Q3G was paralleled by the appearance of quercetin in the mucosal solutions. In contrast, D-fructose (10 mmol/L) did not influence the disappearance of Q3G (Na(+)-free conditions). With proximal colon, 78.2 +/- 11.5% of the initial concentration of Q3G was still present in the mucosal solution after 2 h. When added to the serosal side, the concentration of Q3G decreased only slightly (jejunum, 96.1 +/- 2.1%; proximal colon, 90.7 +/- 1.2%). The concentration of rutin did not change after mucosal or serosal addition. Neither transport of intact glycosides nor of free quercetin from the donor into the acceptor compartment was observed under our experimental conditions. Taken together, the results clearly indicate a role of SGLT1 in mucosal uptake of the Q3G.