Ginkgo biloba (GB) extracts have been used in clinical studies as an alternative therapy for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but the exact bioaction mechanism has not yet been elucidated. In this work, an in silico study on GB metabolites was carried out using SwissTargetPrediction to determine the proteins associated with AD. The resulting proteins, AChE, MAO-A, MAO-B, β-secretase and γ-secretase, were studied by molecular docking, resulting in the finding that kaempferol, quercetin, and luteolin have multitarget potential against AD. These compounds also exhibit antioxidant activity towards reactive oxygen species (ROS), so antioxidant tests were performed on the extracts using the DPPH and ABTS techniques. The ethanol and ethyl acetate GB extracts showed an important inhibition percentage, higher than 80%, at a dose of 0.01 mg/mL. The effect of GB extracts on AD resulted in multitarget action through two pathways: firstly, inhibiting enzymes responsible for degrading neurotransmitters and forming amyloid plaques; secondly, decreasing ROS in the central nervous system (CNS), reducing its deterioration, and promoting the formation of amyloid plaques. The results of this work demonstrate the great potential of GB as a medicinal plant.

The development of educational software that allows the implementation of laboratory practices is necessary. This paper presents the design and development of the Lab-NMDAR program, consisting of three simulators for the teaching-learning of NMDA receptor electrophysiology: (1) NMDAR-Blocking Mg2+ simulator, (2) NMDAR-Glycine simulator, and (3) single channel NMDA-Blocking Mg2+ simulator. The program was implemented in Visual Basic® for Windows® environment. With these simulators the student knows the NMDA current, reproduces its dependence on voltage, simulates its blocking by magnesium in macroscopic current recordings and in a single channel, determines the involvement of NMDA and glycine in NMDA receptor activation and produces virtual dose-response experiments. The program is easy to use, it runs on a personal computer with minimal resources. Es necesario el desarrollo de software educativo que permita la implementación de prácticas de laboratorio. En este trabajo se presenta el diseño y desarrollo del programa Lab-NMDAR, constituido por tres simuladores para la enseñanza-aprendizaje de la electrofisiología del receptor NMDA: (1) simulador NMDAR-Bloqueo Mg2+, (2) simulador NMDAR-Glicina y (3) simulador canal único NMDA-Bloqueo Mg2+. El programa se implementó en Visual Basic® para ambiente Windows®. Con estos simuladores el alumno conoce la corriente NMDA, reproduce su dependencia del voltaje, simula su bloqueo por magnesio en registros de corriente macroscópica y en canal único, determina la participación de NMDA y glicina en la activación del receptor NMDA y produce experimentos virtuales dosis-respuesta. El programa es de fácil manejo, se ejecuta en una computadora personal con el mínimo de recursos.

Changes in stimuli and feeding in pregnant mothers alter the behavior of offspring. Since behavior is mediated by brain activity, it is expected that postnatal changes occur at the level of currents, receptors or soma and dendrites structure and modulation. In this work, we explore at the mechanism level the effects on Sprague–Dawley rat offspring following the administration of serotonin (5-HT) agonist 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MT). We analyzed whether 5-HT affects the glutamate-activated (I_Glut) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-activated currents (I_Glut, I_NMDA) in dissociated pyramidal neurons from the prefrontal cortex (PFC). For this purpose, we performed voltage-clamp experiments on pyramidal neurons from layers V-VI of the PFC of 40-day-old offspring born from 5-MT-treated mothers at the gestational days (GD) 11 to 21. We found that the pyramidal-neurons from the PFC of offspring of mothers treated with 5-MT exhibit a significant increased reduction in both the I_Glut and I_NMDA when 5-HT was administered. Our results suggest that the concentration increase of a neuromodulator during the gestation induces changes in its modulatory action over the offspring ionic currents during the adulthood thus contributing to possible psychiatric disorders.