Date of Award
Summer 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS) in Biology
Department
Biology
Committee Chair
Ashley Turner
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition that is a common cause of dementia and a growing concern worldwide with no effective treatment or cure. Two pathological AD hallmarks include buildup of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Recent attention has turned to exploring natural products and compounds for AD symptom relief and treatment. Vitis vinifera grape seed extract (GSE) contains many beneficial substances. GSE has been tested in several animal models and has shown to improve memory and is even being examined in an AD treatment human clinical trial. In this study, the aim was to examine the potential effects of V. vinifera GSE on Aβ-mediated neurodegeneration in transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans. A transgenic C. elegans strain expressing human Aβ1-42 in glutamatergic neurons that displays progressive, age-dependent neuron loss was used. Behavior and memory were measured utilizing a short-term memory assay (n = 100 per group). Experimental groups included N2 wildtype control, transgenic Aβ1-42 expressing strain, and the transgenic plasmid control strain. Each experimental group was treated with 2 concentrations of GSE (1 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL) or nematode growth media without treatment. The results of the memory assay of the baseline controls showed a trending difference between the N2 and UA198 strains. And when the treatment group at 1 mg/mL were compared to the control groups there was significance with a P value at 0.0343.