The Effect of L-alpha Glycerylphosphorylcholine on Memory in Female Mice (Mus Musculus
Michael Moghadasi, Jennifer Stangl, and Nicholas Yuen
Department of Biological Sciences
Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
Memory plays an integral role in everyday lives. Deterioration of memory can impact everyday lives and cause the simplest of activities to become a hassle. Improvements in or even maintaining memory can benefit every human being. The ability of the chemical supplement L-alpha Glycerylphosphorylcholine to improve memory was tested on female mice (Mus Musculus). The memory of the mice was measured by the time it took them to run a maze without and with L-alpha Glycerylphosphorylcholine. The mice were given 300 mg/Kg of the supplement and ran the maze in 16.74 ± 1.935 seconds (±SEM) and 20.69 ± 2.661 seconds (±SEM) without and with the supplement respectively. The results showed no statistically significant difference in the times taken to run the maze with and without the L-alpha GPC (p=0.11, one-tailed t-test), the null hypothesis is accepted.
Introduction
L-alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine (GPC) is a cognitive enhancing supplement that works as a precursor to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in many chemical synapses in the human body (De Jesus Moreno Moreno, M., 2003). Greater levels of free choline correspond to the increased synthesis of acetylcholine in the brain (Blusztajn & Wurtman, 1983). Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that functions in many areas throughout the body including the skeletal muscle in the arms and the cardiac muscle in the heart; it also has a role in memory and neuroplasticity in the brain.
Deterioration and dysfunction of memory is a major issue in today’s society due to its prevalence and lack of treatment. Alzheimer’s disease is a complex neurodegenerative dementing illness (Clark, 2003) associated with a deficiency of Achetylcholine in the brain (Amenta F. Et Al.). It has recently been hypothesized that certain choline supplementation may aid in improving the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. As a precursor to acetylcholine, L-alpha GPC may improve memory and the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. L-alpha GPC is expected to significantly improve the time it takes for the mice to run the maze.
Materials and Methods
Ten female mice (Mus musculus) were purchased from PetsPlus in San Clemente, CA. They were placed in a large 50 gallon tank and stored in a house in Laguna Niguel, CA with food bowls and water tanks. The temperature was kept at a range of 21°C to 29°C. A maze was made out of particle board for the base and white wood (Pine) for the walls. Before the initial training, each mouse was held to ensure they were used to being handled by humans and to reduce their stress while being placed in the maze. Every morning the food bowls were removed at least four hours prior to conditioning. Each mouse was given 15 minutes to run through the maze and find the food bowl that was placed at the end of the maze as a reward for four consecutive days. On the fifth day, each mouse was placed at the start of the maze and the time it took for them to run to the food bowl at the end was recorded. This process was repeated three times per mouse. The mice were given two days of rest, and then for the following four days they were given 15 minutes each day to explore the maze again. After exploring the maze on the fourth day, the mass of each mouse was taken. Each mouse was given 300 mg/kg of the L-alpha GPC mixed with one mg of peanut butter (Siagala, Et Al. 1992), in accordance with Table 1. Twenty-four hours after they were given the supplement (Abbiati, Et Al. 1993) the mice were again placed at the start of the maze and the time it took for them to reach the end of the maze was recorded. Using Microsoft Excel (2010) a one-tailed paired t-test was run to compare the time taken for each mouse to run the maze without the L-alpha GPC and with the L-alpha GPC to determine if there is a significant difference with the supplement.
Results
Figure 1 shows the mean of the best time taken for the each mouse to run the maze without the L-alpha GPC was 16.74 ±1.935 seconds and with the L-alpha GPC was 20.69 ±2.661 seconds (±SEM). A one-tailed t-test shows p=0.11 seconds. The average time for the mice to run the trial without the L-alpha GPC ranged from 9.010 to 25.50 seconds. The average time taken for the mice to run the trial with the supplement ranged from 8.770 to 35.61 seconds.
Table 1. The weight of each mouse in kg, and the amount of supplement required for each mouse to be given 300 mg/kg.
Mouse / Weight (kg) / Amount of Supplement (mg)black / 0.0343 / 10.2960
gray white gray / 0.0337 / 10.0950
arrow / 0.0335 / 10.0410
albino / 0.0330 / 9.8700
arrow's twin / 0.0354 / 10.6290
cream / 0.0304 / 9.1050
dark gray / 0.0269 / 8.0820
tan white tan / 0.0302 / 9.0720
Figure 1. Average time taken for the mice to run the maze without (16.74 sec ±1.935) and with (20.69 sec ±2.661) L-alpha GPC (±SEM). There is no significant difference in the time taken to run the maze (p=0.11, one-tailed t-test). Error bars indicate SEM. (N=8)
Discussion
Comparison of the mean results with and without L-alpha GPC demonstrated no statistically significant difference between the times run with and without the supplement respectively. Thus the original hypothesis is rejected and the null hypothesis is accepted. There are many possibilities as to why the hypothesis was rejected, mainly that running the maze requires physical exertion, which is not relevant in cognitive function. During the time trials with the supplement Mission Viejo was experiencing a heat wave and the mice took longer to start the maze. Two of the mice were pregnant and gave birth between the time trials with and without the supplement, these two mice were eliminated from the experiment. The other mice appeared to be more agitated after the birth and were more concerned with the mothers than actually running the maze or the food at the end
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Saddleback College Foundation for allowing the use of their supplies for this experiment and Michael Moghadasi’s parents for opening up their house allowing us to have a safe place to keep the mice.
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