Dalile Boushra, Boyle Neil B, Ruiz Franco T, Chakrabarti Anirikh, Respondek Frederique, Dodd Georgina F, Kadosh Kathrin Cohen, Hepsomali Piril, Brummer Robert J, McArthur Simon, Dam Veerle, Zanzer Yoghatama Cindya, Vermeiren Yannick, Schellekens Harriet
Brain Research on Affective Mechanisms (BRAMLab), Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Research Unit Brain & Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Adv Nutr. 2025 Jan;16(1):100343. doi: 10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100343. Epub 2024 Nov 16.
This perspective article is a product of the work of an expert group within the Prebiotic Task Force convened by the International Life Sciences Institute Europe, a non-profit organization that brings together experts from academia, industry, and public service to catalyze nutrition science for public benefit. An expert group was conceived in October 2023 to discuss the evidence base on the use of prebiotics to promote cognitive functioning, with a focus on highlighting knowledge gaps and proposing a list of recommendations to guide this specific area of research forward. To address this, we evaluated existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses of human intervention studies that examine the effects of prebiotics on cognitive functioning. These are predominantly conducted in healthy participants under basal conditions and have, to date, revealed limited effects. In this perspective, we propose that prebiotics should be investigated as agents to promote cognitive resilience by testing their effects on cognitive performance under certain cognition-taxing factors that individuals encounter across their lifespan. These include stress, poor sleep outcomes, sedentary behavior, and unhealthy dietary patterns, all of which have been shown to be associated with altered microbiome and impact global cognition or specific cognitive domains. In addition, we recommend identifying vulnerable populations that are either subclinical or that struggle chronically or periodically with 1 or more cognition-taxing factors, to better uncover the boundary conditions for prebiotic effectiveness. By broadening the scope of research to include diverse populations and challenging conditions in daily life or experimental settings, we can expand our understanding of the role of prebiotics not only in cognitive health or impairment, but also as potential preventative agents that may promote cognitive resilience during aging and in response to various lifestyle-related challenges.
这篇观点文章是由欧洲国际生命科学研究所召集的益生元特别工作组内一个专家小组的工作成果。欧洲国际生命科学研究所是一个非营利组织，汇集了学术界、产业界和公共服务领域的专家，以促进营养科学造福公众。2023年10月成立了一个专家小组，讨论使用益生元促进认知功能的证据基础，重点是突出知识空白，并提出一系列建议以推动这一特定研究领域的发展。为此，我们评估了现有的关于益生元对认知功能影响的人体干预研究的系统评价和荟萃分析。这些研究主要在基础条件下的健康参与者中进行，迄今为止，显示出的效果有限。从这个角度来看，我们建议通过测试益生元在个体一生中遇到的某些认知负荷因素下对认知表现的影响，将其作为促进认知恢复力的因素进行研究。这些因素包括压力、睡眠质量差、久坐不动的行为和不健康的饮食模式，所有这些都已被证明与微生物群改变有关，并影响整体认知或特定认知领域。此外，我们建议确定那些处于亚临床状态或长期或周期性地与一种或多种认知负荷因素作斗争的脆弱人群，以更好地揭示益生元有效性的边界条件。通过扩大研究范围，将不同人群以及日常生活或实验环境中的挑战性条件纳入其中，我们不仅可以加深对益生元在认知健康或损伤方面作用的理解，还可以了解其作为潜在预防剂在衰老过程中以及应对各种与生活方式相关挑战时促进认知恢复力的作用。
