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Sunday 18 October 2015

Berries May Enhance Motor Performance and Improve Cognition

 http://wp.me/p6CxVL-1Cy via @Chimienaturels

British Journal of Nutrition



Full Papers

Molecular Nutrition

The beneficial effects of berries on cognition, motor behaviour and neuronal function in ageing

Barbara Shukitt-Halea1 c1, Donna F. Bielinskia1, Francis C. Laua1, Lauren M. Willisa1, Amanda N. Careya1 and James A. Josepha1 †

a1 USDA-ARS, Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
Abstract
Previously, it has been shown that strawberry (SB) or blueberry (BB) supplementations, when fed to rats from 19 to 21 months of age, reverse age-related decrements in motor and cognitive performance. We have postulated that these effects may be the result of a number of positive benefits of the berry polyphenols, including decreased stress signalling, increased neurogenesis, and increased signals involved in learning and memory. Thus, the present study was carried out to examine these mechanisms in aged animals by administering a control, 2 % SB- or 2 % BB-supplemented diet to aged Fischer 344 rats for 8 weeks to ascertain their effectiveness in reversing age-related deficits in behavioural and neuronal function. The results showed that rats consuming the berry diets exhibited enhanced motor performance and improved cognition, specifically working memory. In addition, the rats supplemented with BB and SB diets showed increased hippocampal neurogenesis and expression of insulin-like growth factor 1, although the improvements in working memory performance could not solely be explained by these increases. The diverse polyphenolics in these berry fruits may have additional mechanisms of action that could account for their relative differences in efficacy.
(Received March 18 2015)
(Revised July 17 2015)
(Accepted August 10 2015)
Key words
  • Strawberries;
  • Blueberries;
  • Spatial memory;
  • Learning;
  • Stress signalling;
  • Neurogenesis
Abbreviations
  • BB:blueberry;
  • BrdU:bromodeoxyuridine;
  • IGF-1:insulin-like growth factor 1;
  • INF:inflammation;
  • MWM:Morris water maze;
  • OS:oxidative stress;
  • SB:strawberry;
  • TBST:Tris-buffered saline with Tween
Correspondence
c1 Corresponding author: B. Shukitt-Hale, fax +1 617 556 3299, email barbara.shukitthale@ars.usda.gov
Footnotes
†  In memory of James A. Joseph, our valued colleague and friend, who passed away while this paper was being written.
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