Sustained consumption of cocoa-based dark chocolate enhances seizure-like events in the mouse hippocampus.

While the consumption of caffeine and cocoa has been associated with a variety of health benefits to humans, some authors have proposed that excessive caffeine intake may increase the frequency of epileptic seizures in humans and reduce the efficiency of antiepileptic drugs. Little is known, however, about the proconvulsant potential of the sustained, excessive intake of cocoa on hippocampal neural circuits. Using the mouse as an experimental model, we examined the effects of the chronic consumption of food enriched in cocoa-based dark chocolate on motor and mood-related behaviours as well as on the excitability properties of hippocampal neurons.

The brain-tumor related protein podoplanin regulates synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent learning and memory.

Introduction: Podoplanin is a cell-surface glycoprotein constitutively expressed in the brain and implicated in human brain tumorigenesis. The intrinsic function of podoplanin in brain neurons remains however uncharacterized.

Materials And Methods: Using an established podoplanin-knockout mouse model and electrophysiological, biochemical, and behavioral approaches, we investigated the brain neuronal role of podoplanin.

Starch Modification by Organic Acids and Their Derivatives: A Review.

Starch has been an inexhaustible subject of research for many decades. It is an inexpensive, readily-available material with extensive application in the food and processing industry. Researchers are continually trying to improve its properties by different modification procedures and expand its application.