TY - JOUR
T1 - Identification of Nordic Berries with Beneficial Effects on Cognitive Outcomes and Gut Microbiota in High-Fat-Fed Middle-Aged C57BL/6J Mice
AU - Huang, Fang
AU - Marungruang, Nittaya
AU - Kostiuchenko, Olha
AU - Kravchenko, Nadiia
AU - Burleigh, Stephen
AU - Prykhodko, Olena
AU - Hållenius, Frida Fåk
AU - Heyman-Lindén, Lovisa
PY - 2022/6/30
Y1 - 2022/6/30
N2 - High-fat diets are associated with neuronal and memory dysfunction. Berries may be useful in improving age-related memory deficits in humans, as well as in mice receiving high-fat diets. Emerging research has also demonstrated that brain health and cognitive function may be related to the dynamic changes in the gut microbiota. In this study, the impact of Nordic berries on the brain and the gut microbiota was investigated in middle-aged C57BL/6J mice. The mice were fed high-fat diets (60%E fat) supplemented with freeze-dried powder (6% dwb) of bilberry, lingonberry, cloudberry, blueberry, blackcurrant, and sea buckthorn for 4 months. The results suggest that supplementation with bilberry, blackcurrant, blueberry, lingonberry, and (to some extent) cloudberry has beneficial effects on spatial cognition, as seen by the enhanced performance following the T-maze alternation test, as well as a greater proportion of DCX-expressing cells with prolongation in hippocampus. Furthermore, the proportion of the mucosa-associated symbiotic bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila increased by 4-14 times in the cecal microbiota of mice fed diets supplemented with lingonberry, bilberry, sea buckthorn, and blueberry. These findings demonstrate the potential of Nordic berries to preserve memory and cognitive function, and to induce alterations of the gut microbiota composition.
AB - High-fat diets are associated with neuronal and memory dysfunction. Berries may be useful in improving age-related memory deficits in humans, as well as in mice receiving high-fat diets. Emerging research has also demonstrated that brain health and cognitive function may be related to the dynamic changes in the gut microbiota. In this study, the impact of Nordic berries on the brain and the gut microbiota was investigated in middle-aged C57BL/6J mice. The mice were fed high-fat diets (60%E fat) supplemented with freeze-dried powder (6% dwb) of bilberry, lingonberry, cloudberry, blueberry, blackcurrant, and sea buckthorn for 4 months. The results suggest that supplementation with bilberry, blackcurrant, blueberry, lingonberry, and (to some extent) cloudberry has beneficial effects on spatial cognition, as seen by the enhanced performance following the T-maze alternation test, as well as a greater proportion of DCX-expressing cells with prolongation in hippocampus. Furthermore, the proportion of the mucosa-associated symbiotic bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila increased by 4-14 times in the cecal microbiota of mice fed diets supplemented with lingonberry, bilberry, sea buckthorn, and blueberry. These findings demonstrate the potential of Nordic berries to preserve memory and cognitive function, and to induce alterations of the gut microbiota composition.
KW - Animals
KW - Blueberry Plants
KW - Cognition
KW - Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects
KW - Fruit
KW - Gastrointestinal Microbiome
KW - Mice
KW - Mice, Inbred C57BL
KW - Vaccinium myrtillus
KW - Verrucomicrobia
U2 - 10.3390/nu14132734
DO - 10.3390/nu14132734
M3 - Article
C2 - 35807915
VL - 14
JO - Nutrients
JF - Nutrients
SN - 2072-6643
IS - 13
ER -