A prebiotic mix can improve cognition in healthy older adults

By 2030, one in six people will be 60 years or older worldwide¹. It is also true that vulnerability is the result of aging and a decrease in muscle strength, cognitive changes and immunis function. Inflammation reactions and oxidative stress due to a changed intestinal microbiome can negatively influence muscle function and cognition. Although various factors influence the aging process, it is unlikely that inducing intestinal microbioma changes is the elixir of youth. However, there is an emerging interest in reversing aging changes by influencing the microbiota-gut brain-herssas^2,3.

A new Randomized controlled study thought that A prebiotic mix with inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) for 12 weeks can improve cognition and is well tolerated among healthy volunteers in the 60s, along with a protein and resistance exercise intervention⁴.

The prebiotic mixture consisted of a mixture of inulin and FOS (7.5 g/d, consisting of a minimum of 3.4 g inulin and 3.5 g FOS) and was compared with a placebo (maltodextrin). Study participants belonged to the Twinsuk cohort, which mainly consisted of a healthy female twins (average age, 73; 78% female). Twin pairs were randomized, with one twin in each study arm. All participants received a protein and resistance exercise intervention, because the authors wanted to investigate whether the addition of a specific intestinal microbiome-oriented intervention could improve the established muscle function improvements of a combined intervention with amino acids and sports with branched chain.

There was no significant difference in muscle strength (The primary outcome measured by chair rise, a marker of muscle strength). However, The prebiotic resulted in any improvement in the cognition (A secondary result, measured with the number of errors in the Paired Associates Learning Memory Test) Compared to the placebo. The authors argued that the improvement of the cognition is clinically relevant is still to be seen. While an earlier test showed that the same prebiotic formulation improved the injuries syndrome, the authors that explained The dose studied was probably insufficient to give a meaningful reaction in muscle strength in a healthy voluntary cohort. It is also possible that The inulin/FOS Prebiotic is not the optimum combination for influencing muscle health.

The prebiotic studied was generally well tolerated and increased the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium As expected. In addition, forty microbioma functions between the baseline and the research into participants who took the prebiotic, while only one changed in the placebo group.

In general, the new study provides evidence of the beneficial effects of prebiotics on microbiota brain systems in older adults for improving cognition. Further clinical evidence is needed to show that these findings are relevant to objective cognition results and can be generalized for younger age groups and the oldest old in healthy and clinical populations, especially men who were under -represented in the Twinsuk cohort studied. While he is waiting for more translational approaches to modulate the Microbiota-Gut-Brain axis, it seems reasonable to promote a mainly unprocessed vegetable diet with some fermented food for mental health in healthy older adults⁶.

References:

1. World Health Organisation. Aging and health. October 1, 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/newsroom/fact-heets/detail/age-and-health.
2. Tekss I, Aboh Layers Emberts, Eighty Hum. Aimed at the Microbiota-Gut brainSas: Prebiotics have anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects and turn the impact of chronic stress in mice to. Biol -Psychiatry. 2017; 82 (7): 472-487. DOI: 10.1016/J.Biopsych.2016.12.031.
3. Aslam H, Lotfaliany M, So D, et al. Fiber intake and fiber intervention in depression and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomized controlled studies. Nutr Rev.. 2024; 82 (12): 1678-1695. Two: 10,1093/Nutrit/NuAD143.
4. Van Loch Aline MN, Bowyer RCE, Mord JM, et al. Effect of intestinal microboic modulation on muscle function and cognition: promoting randomized controlled study. Just wet. 2024; 15 (1): 1859. DOI: 10.1038/S41467-024-46116-y.
5. Buistues C, Fernández-Garrido J, Pruimboom L, et al. Effect of a prebiotic formulation on vulnerable syndrome: a randomized, double -blind clinical study. Int J Mol SCI. 2016; 17 (6): 932. DOI: 10.3390/IJMS17060932.
6. Schneider E, O’Riordan KJ, Clarke G, et al. Feeding intestinal microbes to nourish the brain: cleaning up the diet-microbiota-gut-brainShases. Night metab. 2024; 6 (8): 1454-1478. DOI: 10.1038/S42255-024-01108-6.