Salmon protein hydrolysate seen to reverse cognitive impairment
In a scientific article, researchers from the Norwegian company Hofseth BioCare, among others, have shown that protein hydrolysate from Atlantic salmon mitigates age-related neuroinflammation and cognitive decline in rats.
Researchers from the Ålesund-based company Hofseth BioCare have collaborated with researchers from Shanxi Medical University in the megacity of Taiyuan in China, and the article has been published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.
The researchers write in the article that as the global population ages, cognitive impairment in the elderly has received increasing attention in public health, underscoring the urgent need for effective intervention strategies.
Salmon protein hydrolysate (SPH) contains a variety of potentially bioactive peptides, extracted through hydrolysis of fresh salmon protein
In vitro studies have shown that SPH has powerful antioxidant and blood sugar-regulating effects.
Previous research conducted by the same researchers behind this article has shown that SPH has anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and immunomodulatory properties, and that it can reduce gastrointestinal inflammation in a mouse model of colitis.
However, the effect of SPH on brain ageing has not been previously reported. This study aimed to investigate whether SPH can correct age-related disruptions in gut microbiota and improve cognitive function in elderly rats.
Gut microbiota and cognitive impairment
The study examined the effects of salmon protein hydrolysate (SPH) on gut microbiota and cognitive impairment in the rats.
Over the course of eight weeks, older rats were treated with SPH, which resulted in significant improvements in cognitive function, demonstrated through attention tests and maze exercises.
SPH modulated, among other things, so-called microglial activation in the hippocampus.
RT-PCR analyses also showed a decrease in proinflammatory cytokines and an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines, suggesting reduced neuroinflammation.
The importance of the gut microbiota in the ageing process has received increasing attention. Several studies in both humans and animals have shown that older individuals have a significantly different microbial composition than their younger counterparts.
Animal studies have shown that transplanting faecal microbiota from older rodents to younger individuals disrupts the gut microbiota of the younger individuals, leading to cognitive impairment. Conversely, transferring microbiota from younger mice to older ones has resulted in improved cognitive function in the older animals.
Therefore, it was very interesting for the researchers to discover that SPH changed the gut microbiota by increasing the proportion of certain types of bacteria, while others were reduced.
SPH also increased the concentration of certain short-chain fatty acids in the older rats.
“The study thus provides convincing evidence that SPH may be a functional food with the potential to counteract age-related cognitive decline,” the researchers write.
Read the scientific article here.
