Honors Theses
Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Biomolecular Sciences
First Advisor
Nicole Ashpole
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are thought to be brought on by genetic and environmental factors including exposure to compounds and extracts found in plants. Many substances extracted from plants have been shown to induce cell death in neurons. This experiment tests different plant compounds to determine if they induce death in neurons in cell culture. In particular, we focused on extracts and compound from the Asimina Triloba plant- a plant that had anecdotally been connected with Parkinson's Disease-like effects. Cultured neurons were treated with increasing concentrations of the compounds and extracts. Twenty-four hours after treatment, viability was assessed. Results show that while most of the compounds and extracts do not induce neurotoxicity, some of the compounds and extracts are neurotoxic and become increasingly more neurotoxic as the concentration of the compounds increase. In the future, it is important to continue exploring the toxicity of this fruit to determine whether consumption is detrimental to neuronal health. Moreover, future studies may elucidate whether these compounds could be used to model degeneration.
Recommended Citation
Sanders, Myriam, "Neurotoxicity of Asimina Triloba" (2018). Honors Theses. 724.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/724
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