Ginkgo biloba abolishes aggression in mice lacking MAO A.
Mice deficient in monoamine oxidase A (MAO A) have increased brain levels of serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine and show enhanced aggression. We used MAO A knock-out (KO) mice as a model to study the effect of ginkgo biloba (EGb) on aggression. When EGb was administered to MAO A KO mice, their aggressive behavior in resident-intruder confrontations was reduced to levels seen in wild types. EGb did not affect the locomotive behavior of MAO A KO mice, which suggests that its effects on aggression were not due to sedation. EGb caused a significant 16.9% decrease in [3H]ketanserin binding to 5-HT2A receptors in the frontal cortex of MAO A KO mice but did not change the receptor affinity for [3H]ketanserin. This suggests that the antiaggressive effect of EGb may be mediated by 5-HT2A receptors and that EGb may be developed as a novel antiaggressive agent.
University of Southern California, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles 90089, USA. jcshih@hsc.usc.edu
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JC
Shih
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Chen
M J
MJ
Ridd
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Seif
D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D020441:Ginkgo biloba / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007650:Ketanserin / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011485:Protein Binding; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism
D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D012701:Serotonin; D007650:Ketanserin; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase