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Theobromine, the primary methylxanthine found in Theobroma cacao, can pass through the blood‐brain barrier in mice
Author(s) -
Sugimoto Naotoshi,
Katakura Masanori,
Matsuzaki Kentaro,
OhnoShosaku Takako,
Yachie Akihiro,
Shido Osamu
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.lb635
Subject(s) - theobromine , theobroma , caffeine , blood–brain barrier , glioma , pharmacology , medicine , chemistry , biology , cancer research , botany , central nervous system
Theobromine, a caffeine derivative, is the primary methylxanthine produced by Theobroma cacao. We previously showed that theobromine has anti‐tumor effect and inhibits the cell growth of a glioma cell line derived from human malignant glioma [1]. Glioma is a cancer of brain. So, for exerting the anti‐tumor effect, theobromine must pass though the blood‐brain barrier. Here, we investigate whether theobromine could pass though the blood‐brain barrier in mice. All animal experiments were performed in accordance with the Guidelines for Animal Experimentation of Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, which were compiled from the Guidelines for Animal Experimentation of the Japanese Association for Laboratory Animal Science. Mice were divided into two groups. First group mice had a normal diet, and second group mice had a diet supplemented with 0.05% of theobromine for 30 days. We show that theobromine is detected in cortex as well as plasma in mice that had the diet with theobromine. These results suggest that theobromine can pass through the blood‐brain barrier in mice. Support or Funding Information This work was supported in part by the Grants‐in‐Aid for Science and Culture of Japan (25282021).