Ginkgo Biloba Treatment Ameliorates Chemosensory Deficiencies in Caenorhabditis elegans Models of Alzheimer's Disease

Whittier, Rebecca

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Ginkgo Biloba Treatment Ameliorates Chemosensory Deficiencies in Caenorhabditis elegans Models of Alzheimer's Disease

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease with a limited number of treatments, affecting 1 in 9 Americans aged 65 and older. Previous studies have observed differences in the gut microbiota between healthy individuals and AD patients. The brain and gut are connected via the gut-brain axis. It's hypothesized that dysbiosis contributes to amyloid plaque build-up and can lead to immune response in the brain, triggering neuroinflammation. To investigate modulation of the gut microbiome as a potential treatment of AD, ginkgo biloba extract was fed to a transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans AD model in this study to measure its therapeutic potential. Behavioral avoidance assays were used to monitor and measure amelioration of chemoreception deficiencies in the C. elegans AD model treated with ginkgo biloba extract. Ginkgo biloba extract treatment demonstrated partial improvement of chemoreception deficiency demonstrating its potential as a preventative or therapeutic option for AD.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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