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Identification of Nordic Berries with Beneficial Effects on Cognitive Outcomes and Gut Microbiota in High-Fat-Fed Middle-Aged C57BL/6J Mice

Huang, Fang LU ; Marungruang, Nittaya LU ; Kostiuchenko, Olha ; Kravchenko, Nadiia LU ; Burleigh, Stephen LU ; Prykhodko, Olena LU ; Hållenius, Frida Fåk LU orcid and Heyman-Lindén, Lovisa LU (2022) In Nutrients 14(13).
Abstract

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... (More)

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.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Animals, Blueberry Plants, Cognition, Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects, Fruit, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Vaccinium myrtillus, Verrucomicrobia
in
Nutrients
volume
14
issue
13
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • pmid:35807915
  • scopus:85133130191
ISSN
2072-6643
DOI
10.3390/nu14132734
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4da4afd0-2b06-4ef1-a2d8-3d44ebe181b2
date added to LUP
2022-08-08 07:56:11
date last changed
2024-04-18 13:00:25
@article{4da4afd0-2b06-4ef1-a2d8-3d44ebe181b2,
  abstract     = {{<p>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 <i>Akkermansia muciniphila</i> 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. </p>}},
  author       = {{Huang, Fang and Marungruang, Nittaya and Kostiuchenko, Olha and Kravchenko, Nadiia and Burleigh, Stephen and Prykhodko, Olena and Hållenius, Frida Fåk and Heyman-Lindén, Lovisa}},
  issn         = {{2072-6643}},
  keywords     = {{Animals; Blueberry Plants; Cognition; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects; Fruit; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Vaccinium myrtillus; Verrucomicrobia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{13}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Nutrients}},
  title        = {{Identification of Nordic Berries with Beneficial Effects on Cognitive Outcomes and Gut Microbiota in High-Fat-Fed Middle-Aged C57BL/6J Mice}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu14132734}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/nu14132734}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}