The effect of Ginkgo biloba on the cerebellum of aging SAMP mouse--a TUNEL, bcl-2, and fMRI study.

EGb 761, an extract from Ginkgo biloba that possesses neuroprotective properties, was fed to a strain of fast aging mice (SAMP-8) beginning at 3 weeks of age until they were sacrificed at 3 months and 11 months, respectively, along with an age-matched control group without herbal feeding. The aim of the study was to determine (1) the status of apoptosis and the status of bcl-2, a molecule involved in the fate of cells following injury, in the cerebella of these mice and (2) to analyze the functional changes as shown by fMRI images. The data indicated that there were no differences in apoptosis between the mice fed with EGb 761 and the control group at the two time points of 3 and 11 months of age. For bcl-2 positive cells, there was a decrease in density only in the cerebella of 11-month-old mice fed with the herbal extract when compared with controls. Functional studies indicated that while no changes were observed in the 3-month-old mice fed with Ginkgo biloba, an expansion of activated sites, possibly related to "synaptic reorganization and pathway alteration," was observed in the 11-month-old mice.