Enzymatic Synthesis of Resveratrol Oligosaccharides (Gluco-oligosaccharides) and their Enhanced Application as Antidementia Drugs that Cross the Blood-brain Barrier (BBB)

This study synthesized resveratrol oligosaccharides (gluco oligosaccharides) by two-step enzymatic glycosylation, using glucosyltransferase from Phytolacca americana and cyclodextrin glucanotransferase. Although resveratrol hardly crosses the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in the mouse brain, the synthesized resveratrol oligosaccharides incorporated into the mouse brain tissue crossed the BBB. Our study indicated that resveratrol modified with oligosaccharides might have gained a BBB-crossing ability. Furthermore, during the Y-maze test using senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8, our investigations revealed that the time spent in the novel Y-maze arm by the resveratrol-oligosaccharides-treated mice was longer than that spent in the novel arm by the resveratrol-treated-mice. Therefore, this study established that since resveratrol oligosaccharides could penetrate the BBB of mouse brain samples and be incorporated into the mouse’s brain tissue, they could also enhance spatial learning.