1.
Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum BB68S Improves Cognitive Functions in Healthy Older Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
Shi, S, Zhang, Q, Sang, Y, Ge, S, Wang, Q, Wang, R, He, J
Nutrients. 2022;15(1)
-
-
-
Free full text
Plain language summary
Probiotics, live microorganisms that provide health benefits when administered regularly in the host, substantially affect the composition as well as metabolic output of the gut microbiome. Probiotics can impact brain health and host behaviours through the microbiota-gut-brain axis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Bifidobacterium longum BB68S (BB68S) [probiotics] on the cognitive function of healthy elderly people aged 60–75 years. This study was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The subjects (n=60) were evenly and randomly allocated to the probiotic or placebo groups. Results showed that the subjects had good tolerance to the probiotic intervention in this study and no side effects were reported. The BB68S intervention significantly improved cognitive function compared to that of controls. Amongst the 12 items, list learning, story memory, figure copy, line orientation, coding, story recall, and figure recall scores of the probiotic group improved significantly. Among the 5 domains, only language did not significantly improve. Authors conclude that BB68S could improve cognitive function thus probiotics may be used as an alternative strategy to advance cognitive aging and promote healthy aging.
Abstract
Probiotics could improve cognitive functions in patients with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, but the effects on cognitive function in healthy older adults without cognitive impairment need further study. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Bifidobacterium longum BB68S (BB68S) on cognitive functions among healthy older adults without cognitive impairment. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted with 60 healthy older adults without cognitive impairment who were divided into probiotic or placebo groups and required to consume either a sachet of probiotic (BB68S, 5 × 1010 CFU/sachet) or placebo once daily for 8 weeks. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used as an inclusion screening tool to screen elderly participants with healthy cognitive function in our study, and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) was used to assess cognitive function in subjects before and after intervention as an assessment tool. BB68S significantly improved subjects’ cognitive functions (total RBANS score increased by 18.89 points after intervention, p < 0.0001), especially immediate memory, visuospatial/constructional, attention, and delayed memory domains. BB68S intervention increased the relative abundances of beneficial bacteria Lachnospira, Bifidobacterium, Dorea, and Cellulosilyticum, while decreasing those of bacteria related to cognition impairment, such as Collinsella, Parabacteroides, Tyzzerella, Bilophila, unclassified_c_Negativicutes, Epulopiscium, Porphyromonas, and Granulicatella. In conclusion, BB68S could improve cognitive functions in healthy elderly adults without cognitive impairment, along with having beneficial regulatory effects on their gut microbiota. This study supports probiotics as a strategy to promote healthy aging and advances cognitive aging research.