Author(s)

Wilfried Dimpfel¹, Julia Wiebe², Nigel Gericke², Leonie Schombert³

¹Justus-Liebig-University Giessen c/o NeuroCode AG, Wetzlar, Germany.
²Nektium S.L., Las Palmas, Spain.
³NeuroCode AG, Wetzlar, Germany.

Zynamite®, a special extract from Mangifera indica, exerted stimulatory properties on the central nervous system during a pilot study. The question arose if Zynamite® would have a similar action on the central nervous system as caffeine. Two well established animal models were used: a) quantitation of spectral power of field potentials in the freely moving rat and b) induction of long term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus slice preparation ex vivo after one week of daily administration. In the presence of 25 mg/kg of Zynamite®, predominantly alpha2 and beta1 spectral frequencies were attenuated in all brain areas during the first hour after administration. Exactly this pattern of frequency changes had been observed in earlier studies with i.p. administration of caffeine. Discriminant analysis confirmed this similarity by projection of Zynamite® and 0.5 mg/kg caffeine into close neighborhood and showing identical colours, which points to a similar mechanism of action in this analysis. In addition, when Zynamite® was combined with very low doses of caffeine synergistic effects were observed. Since alpha2 waves are under the control of dopamine, activation of this neurotransmitter system might be responsible for the stimulating property of Zynamite®. These results are corroborated by the results from the ex vivo study using the hippocampus slice in vitro to follow changes in excitability in the presence of 0.5 mg/kg of caffeine, 25 mg/kg of Zynamite® or their combination in comparison to Placebo after daily administration for one week. Both caffeine and Zynamite® increased LTP. LTP relates to space and time dependent memory. From these studies it is evident that both caffeine and Zynamite® act in similar ways on brain electrical activity, and have potential to improve cognitive function. Bioactive compounds of Zynamite® clearly pass the blood brain barrier to act on the central nervous system. Due to the demonstrated similarity of action, Zynamite® has potential as a CNS-activating nutraceutical that could be used to replace caffeine.

Zynamite®, Mangifera indica, Caffeine, Rat, Field Potential, Hippocampus Slice, Synergy

Dimpfel, W. , Wiebe, J. , Gericke, N. and Schombert, L. (2018) Zynamite® (Mangifera indica Leaf Extract) and Caffeine Act in a Synergistic Manner on Electrophysiological Parameters of Rat Central Nervous System. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 9, 502-518. doi: 10.4236/fns.2018.95039.