Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria ameliorate memory and learning deficits and oxidative stress in β-amyloid (1-42) injected rats.

The gastrointestinal microbiota affects brain function, including memory and learning. In this study we investigated the effects of probiotics on memory and oxidative stress biomarkers in an experimental model of Alzheimer's disease. Sixty rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: control; control-probiotics, which received probiotics for 8 weeks; sham operation, which received an intrahippocampal injection of phosphate-buffered saline; Alzheimer, which received an intrahippocampal injection of β-amyloid (Aβ1-42); and Alzheimer-probiotics, which in addition to being injected with Aβ1-42, received 2 g (1 × 10 CFU/g) of probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus, L.