Guo Bingbing, Zhang Jingyi, Zhang Weihao, Chen Feng, Liu Bin
Faculty of Environment and Life, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China.
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Health, Institute for Innovative Development of Food Industry, Department of Food Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2025;65(2):265-286. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2023.2272769. Epub 2023 Oct 27.
Neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging are often accompanied by cognitive decline and gut microbiota disorder. But the impact of gut microbiota on these cognitive disturbances remains incompletely understood. Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are major metabolites produced by gut microbiota during the digestion of dietary fiber, serving as an energy source for gut epithelial cells and/or circulating to other organs, such as the liver and brain, through the bloodstream. SCFAs have been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier and played crucial roles in brain metabolism, with potential implications in mediating Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the underlying mechanisms that SCFAs might influence psychological functioning, including affective and cognitive processes and their neural basis, have not been fully elucidated. Furthermore, the dietary sources which determine these SCFAs production was not thoroughly evaluated yet. This comprehensive review explores the production of SCFAs by gut microbiota, their transportation through the gut-brain axis, and the potential mechanisms by which they influence age-related neurodegenerative disorders. Also, the review discusses the importance of dietary fiber sources and the challenges associated with harnessing dietary-derived SCFAs as promoters of neurological health in elderly individuals. Overall, this study suggests that gut microbiota-derived SCFAs and/or dietary fibers hold promise as potential targets and strategies for addressing age-related neurodegenerative disorders.
与衰老相关的神经退行性疾病通常伴有认知能力下降和肠道微生物群紊乱。但肠道微生物群对这些认知障碍的影响仍未完全明了。短链脂肪酸（SCFAs）是肠道微生物群在膳食纤维消化过程中产生的主要代谢产物，可作为肠道上皮细胞的能量来源和/或通过血液循环至肝脏和大脑等其他器官。研究表明，SCFAs能够穿过血脑屏障并在脑代谢中发挥关键作用，对介导阿尔茨海默病（AD）和帕金森病（PD）具有潜在意义。然而，SCFAs可能影响心理功能（包括情感和认知过程及其神经基础）的潜在机制尚未完全阐明。此外，决定这些SCFAs产生的饮食来源尚未得到充分评估。这篇综述全面探讨了肠道微生物群产生SCFAs的过程、它们通过肠-脑轴的运输，以及它们影响与年龄相关的神经退行性疾病的潜在机制。此外，综述还讨论了膳食纤维来源的重要性以及将饮食来源的SCFAs作为促进老年人神经健康的物质所面临的挑战。总体而言，这项研究表明，肠道微生物群衍生的SCFAs和/或膳食纤维有望成为应对与年龄相关的神经退行性疾病的潜在靶点和策略。
