Hatayama Kouta, Kono Kanako, Okuma Kana, Masuyama Hiroaki
Symbiosis Solutions, Inc., Tokyo, Japan.
Front Nutr. 2025 Jul 21;12:1585111. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1585111. eCollection 2025.
The large number of elderly patients with dementia and mild cognitive impairment with cognitive decline in Japan has become a social problem. In this study, a food intervention study was conducted to test whether a food intervention approach targeting intestinal microbiota can improve cognitive function in elderly Japanese individuals.
Japanese participants (144 males and 87 females) aged 60-79 years were assigned to one of the test food groups: Tamogitake mushroom ( var. ), Lam. leaves, and rice bran for each sex, respectively. After 4 weeks of pre-observation, each group consumed the test foods for 8 weeks; cognitive function and intestinal microbiota tests were performed after each 4-week period. The intestinal microbiota of each participant was determined by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.
The participants were divided into responders (improved cognitive function) and non-responders (no improvement) within each sex group. Responders exhibited variations in intestinal bacteria belonging to specific taxa, including , , , , , and , compared to non-responders, indicating that cognitive function may be improved by changes in specific intestinal bacteria with food intake. However, improvements in cognitive function would require consuming foods suitable for the composition of the intestinal microbiota.
Food intervention approaches targeting the intestinal microbiota could lead to innovative solutions for improving cognitive function in the elderly.
在日本,大量患有痴呆症和轻度认知障碍且认知能力下降的老年患者已成为一个社会问题。在本研究中,开展了一项食物干预研究,以测试针对肠道微生物群的食物干预方法是否能改善日本老年人的认知功能。
将年龄在60 - 79岁的日本参与者(144名男性和87名女性)分别分配到不同的测试食物组:男性食用滑子菇、 、 叶,女性食用米糠。在进行4周的预观察后,每组食用测试食物8周;每4周进行一次认知功能和肠道微生物群测试。通过16S rRNA基因扩增子测序确定每位参与者的肠道微生物群。
在每个性别组内,参与者被分为反应者(认知功能改善)和无反应者(无改善)。与无反应者相比,反应者体内属于特定分类群的肠道细菌存在差异,包括 、 、 、 、 、 ,这表明认知功能可能会随着食物摄入导致特定肠道细菌的变化而得到改善。然而,认知功能的改善需要食用适合肠道微生物群组成的食物。
针对肠道微生物群的食物干预方法可能会为改善老年人的认知功能带来创新解决方案。