Dietary prebiotics alter novel microbial dependent fecal metabolites that improve sleep.

Dietary prebiotics produce favorable changes in the commensal gut microbiome and reduce host vulnerability to stress-induced disruptions in complex behaviors such as sleep. The mechanisms for how prebiotics modulate stress physiology remain unclear; however, emerging evidence suggests that gut microbes and their metabolites may play a role. This study tested if stress and/or dietary prebiotics (Test diet) alter the fecal metabolome; and explored if these changes were related to sleep and/or gut microbial alpha diversity.

Evaluation of Dietary Bovine Milk Fat Globule Membrane Supplementation on Growth, Serum Cholesterol and Lipoproteins, and Neurodevelopment in the Young Pig.

Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) is a protein- and phospholipid-rich membrane that surrounds the lipid droplet in milk. We have previously reported that a diet composed of a combination of prebiotics, bovine MFGM (bMFGM), and lactoferrin (bLf) supported brain development in young pigs. Due to the growing interest of its potential benefits in neurodevelopment, the present study focused on the effects of dietary bMFGM alone using the pig as a translational model.

Dietary Oligosaccharides Attenuate Stress-Induced Disruptions in Immune Reactivity and Microbial B-Vitamin Metabolism.

Exposure to stressful stimuli dysregulates inflammatory processes and alters the gut microbiota. Prebiotics, including long-chain fermentable fibers and milk oligosaccharides, have the potential to limit inflammation through modulation of the gut microbiota. To determine whether prebiotics attenuate stress-induced inflammation and microbiota perturbations, mice were fed either a control diet or a diet supplemented with galactooligosaccharides, polydextrose and sialyllactose (GOS+PDX+SL) or sialyllactose (SL) for 2 weeks prior to and during a 6-day exposure to a social disruption stressor.

The enduring effects of early-life stress on the microbiota-gut-brain axis are buffered by dietary supplementation with milk fat globule membrane and a prebiotic blend.

Nutritional interventions targeting the microbiota-gut-brain axis are proposed to modulate stress-induced dysfunction of physiological processes and brain development. Maternal separation (MS) in rats induces long-term alterations to behaviour, pain responses, gut microbiome and brain neurochemistry. In this study, the effects of dietary interventions (milk fat globule membrane [MFGM] and a polydextrose/galacto-oligosaccharide prebiotic blend) were evaluated.

Evaluation of Sialyllactose Supplementation of a Prebiotic-Containing Formula on Growth, Intestinal Development, and Bacterial Colonization in the Neonatal Piglet.

Background: Sialyllactose (SL) is a highly abundant oligosaccharide in human milk that has been shown to influence intestinal maturation and cognitive development and exert bifidogenic effects on the gut microbiota. The SL content of infant formula is significantly less than that of human milk, therefore there is interest in determining the effect of supplementing SL to infant formula at the levels in human milk on neonatal outcomes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of varying doses of dietary SL compared with a milk replacer formula on weight gain, gastrointestinal development, and microbiota composition in piglets.

Dietary Sialyllactose Does Not Influence Measures of Recognition Memory or Diurnal Activity in the Young Pig.

Sialic acid (SA) is an integral component of gangliosides and signaling molecules in the brain and its dietary intake may support cognitive development. We previously reported that feeding sialyllactose, a milk oligosaccharide that contains SA, alters SA content and diffusivity in the pig brain. The present research sought to expand upon such results and describe the effects of feeding sialyllactose on recognition memory and sleep/wake activity using a translational pig model.

Feeding the developing brain: Juvenile rats fed diet rich in prebiotics and bioactive milk fractions exhibit reduced anxiety-related behavior and modified gene expression in emotion circuits.

Early life nutrition is critical for brain development. Dietary prebiotics and bioactive milk fractions support brain development by increasing plasticity and altering activity in brain regions important for cognition and emotion regulation, perhaps through the gut-microbiome-brain axis. Here we examined the impact of a diet containing prebiotics, lactoferrin, and milk fat globule membrane (test diet) on beneficial gut bacteria, basal gene expression for activity and plasticity markers within brain circuits important for cognition and anxiety, and anxiety-related behavior in the open field.

Dietary polydextrose and galactooligosaccharide increase exploratory behavior, improve recognition memory, and alter neurochemistry in the young pig.

Objectives: Previous studies have shown that dietary prebiotics have the potential to improve memory, alter social behavior, and reduce anxiety-like behaviors in rodents. The present research sought to expand upon such results and describe the effects of feeding prebiotics early in life on cognition and neurochemistry using a translational piglet model.

Methods: Pigs were provided customized milk replacer containing 2 g/L each of polydextrose (PDX) and galactooligosaccharide (PDX/GOS) or 0 g/L (Control) from postnatal day (PND) 2-33.

Dietary Sialyllactose Influences Sialic Acid Concentrations in the Prefrontal Cortex and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Measures in Corpus Callosum of Young Pigs.

Sialic acid (SA) is a key component of gangliosides and neural cell adhesion molecules important during neurodevelopment. Human milk contains SA in the form of sialyllactose (SL) an abundant oligosaccharide. To better understand the potential role of dietary SL on neurodevelopment, the effects of varying doses of dietary SL on brain SA content and neuroimaging markers of development were assessed in a newborn piglet model.

Neurobehavioural effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG alone and in combination with prebiotics polydextrose and galactooligosaccharide in male rats exposed to early-life stress.

Early life is a period of significant brain development when the brain is at its most plastic and vulnerable. Stressful episodes during this window of development have long-lasting effects on the central nervous system. Rodent maternal separation (MS) is a reliable model of early-life stress and induces alterations in both physiology and behaviour.

Dietary Prebiotics and Bioactive Milk Fractions Improve NREM Sleep, Enhance REM Sleep Rebound and Attenuate the Stress-Induced Decrease in Diurnal Temperature and Gut Microbial Alpha Diversity.

Severe, repeated or chronic stress produces negative health outcomes including disruptions of the sleep/wake cycle and gut microbial dysbiosis. Diets rich in prebiotics and glycoproteins impact the gut microbiota and may increase gut microbial species that reduce the impact of stress. This experiment tested the hypothesis that consumption of dietary prebiotics, lactoferrin (Lf) and milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) will reduce the negative physiological impacts of stress.

Early life diet containing prebiotics and bioactive whey protein fractions increased dendritic spine density of rat hippocampal neurons.

Early life nutrition plays an important role in brain development. Emerging research in rodents, piglets and humans suggest that prebiotics, milk fat globule membrane and lactoferrin may each play unique roles in brain development and cognitive functions. However, knowledge of their combined impact is lacking.

Early life diets with prebiotics and bioactive milk fractions attenuate the impact of stress on learned helplessness behaviours and alter gene expression within neural circuits important for stress resistance.

Manipulating gut microbes may improve mental health. Prebiotics are indigestible compounds that increase the growth and activity of health-promoting microorganisms, yet few studies have examined how prebiotics affect CNS function. Using an acute inescapable stressor known to produce learned helplessness behaviours such as failure to escape and exaggerated fear, we tested whether early life supplementation of a blend of two prebiotics, galactooligosaccharide (GOS) and polydextrose (PDX), and the glycoprotein lactoferrin (LAC) would attenuate behavioural and biological responses to stress later in life.

Porcine Milk Oligosaccharides and Sialic Acid Concentrations Vary Throughout Lactation.

Background: Milk oligosaccharides (OSs) are bioactive components known to influence neonatal development. These compounds have specific physiological functions acting as prebiotics, immune system modulators, and enhancing intestine and brain development.

Objectives: The pig is a commonly used model for studying human nutrition, and there is interest in quantifying OS composition of porcine milk across lactation compared with human milk.

Dietary Alpha-Lipoic Acid Alters Piglet Neurodevelopment.

Introduction: Alpha-lipoic acid (a-LA) is an antioxidant shown to ameliorate age-associated impairments of brain and cardiovascular function. Human milk is known to have high antioxidant capacity; however, the role of antioxidants in the developing brain is largely uncharacterized. This exploratory study aimed to examine the dose-response effects of a-LA on piglet growth and neurodevelopment.

Prebiotics and Bioactive Milk Fractions Affect Gut Development, Microbiota, and Neurotransmitter Expression in Piglets.

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that the addition of prebiotics and 2 functional milk ingredients to infant formula would maintain normal growth and gut development, and modify microbiota composition and neurotransmitter gene expression in neonatal piglets.

Methods: Two-day-old male piglets (n = 24) were fed formula (CONT) or formula with polydextrose (1.2 g/100 g diet), galactooligosaccharides (3.

Dietary Prebiotics, Milk Fat Globule Membrane, and Lactoferrin Affects Structural Neurodevelopment in the Young Piglet.

Introduction: Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and lactoferrin have been identified as two components that have potential to affect neurodevelopment. While concentrations of some MFGM constituents in infant formulas are within human milk range, they may not be present at optimal or clinically effective levels. However, lactoferrin levels of infant formulas are consistently reported to be lower than human milk.

Dietary Isomers of Sialyllactose Increase Ganglioside Sialic Acid Concentrations in the Corpus Callosum and Cerebellum and Modulate the Colonic Microbiota of Formula-Fed Piglets.

Background: Sialyllactose is a key human milk oligosaccharide and consists of sialic acid (SA) bound to a lactose molecule. Breastfed infants have increased accumulation of ganglioside-bound SA compared with formula-fed infants.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether different isomers of sialyllactose enrich brain SA and modulate the microbiome of developing neonatal piglets.

Pre-weaning dietary iron deficiency impairs spatial learning and memory in the cognitive holeboard task in piglets.

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in humans, affecting more than two billion people worldwide. Early-life iron deficiency can lead to irreversible deficits in learning and memory. The pig represents a promising model animal for studying such deficits, because of its similarities to humans during early development.

The prebiotics 3'Sialyllactose and 6'Sialyllactose diminish stressor-induced anxiety-like behavior and colonic microbiota alterations: Evidence for effects on the gut-brain axis.

There are extensive bidirectional interactions between the gut microbiota and the central nervous system (CNS), and studies demonstrate that stressor exposure significantly alters gut microbiota community structure. We tested whether oligosaccharides naturally found in high levels in human milk, which have been reported to impact brain development and enhance the growth of beneficial commensal microbes, would prevent stressor-induced alterations in gut microbial community composition and attenuate stressor-induced anxiety-like behavior. Mice were fed standard laboratory diet, or laboratory diet containing the human milk oligosaccharides 3'Sialyllactose (3'SL) or 6'Sialyllactose (6'SL) for 2 weeks prior to being exposed to either a social disruption stressor or a non-stressed control condition.

Effect of perinatally supplemented flavonoids on brain structure, circulation, cognition, and metabolism in C57BL/6J mice.

Evidence suggests that flavanol consumption can beneficially affect cognition in adults, but little is known about the effect of flavanol intake early in life. The present study aims to assess the effect of dietary flavanol intake during the gestational and postnatal period on brain structure, cerebral blood flow (CBF), cognition, and brain metabolism in C57BL/6J mice. Female wild-type C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to either a flavanol supplemented diet or a control diet at gestational day 0.

Impact of dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on cognition, motor skills and hippocampal neurogenesis in developing C57BL/6J mice.

Maternal intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) is critical during perinatal development of the brain. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the most abundant n-3 PUFA in the brain and influences neuronal membrane function and neuroprotection. The present study aims to assess the effect of dietary n-3 PUFA availability during the gestational and postnatal period on cognition, brain metabolism and neurohistology in C57BL/6J mice.

DHA diet reduces AD pathology in young APPswe/PS1 Delta E9 transgenic mice: possible gender effects.

Epidemiological and clinical trial findings suggest that consumption of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) lowers the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We examined the effects of short-term (3 months) DHA enriched diet on plaque deposition and synaptic defects in forebrain of young APPswe/PS1 Delta E9 transgenic (tg) and non-transgenic (ntg) mice. Gas chromatography revealed a significant increase in DHA concomitant with a decrease of arachidonic acid in both brain and liver in mice fed with DHA.

alpha-Tocopherol and selenium facilitate recovery from lipopolysaccharide-induced sickness in aged mice.

The elderly suffer a decline in immune function that increases their vulnerability to infections. Because antioxidants improve some age-related deficits in immune and cognitive function, our goal was to determine whether dietary alpha-tocopherol (alpha-T) and selenium inhibit LPS-induced sickness behavior in aged mice. Male BALB/c mice were fed modified AIN93-M diets that were low, adequate, or high in both alpha-T (10, 75, or 500 mg/kg) and selenium (0.

alpha-Tocopherol reduces lipopolysaccharide-induced peroxide radical formation and interleukin-6 secretion in primary murine microglia and in brain.

The purpose of this study was to determine if alpha-tocopherol-a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging agent-inhibits LPS-induced oxidative stress and interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in murine microglia and brain. LPS increased intracellular peroxides and IL-6 in a dose-dependent fashion in primary microglia. The LPS-induced increase in ROS and IL-6 was reduced by pretreatment of alpha-tocopherol.