Probiotic Bacteria may influence brain fatty acid composition
11 April 2012
Designer probiotic bacteria have the
potential to alter brain fatty acid composition
according to new research published in the
prestigious American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition.
The research, carried out by Dr. Rebecca Wall
and Dr Catherine Stanton and their colleagues at
the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in Teagasc
Moorepark Food Research Centre and University
College Cork, demonstrated that mice fed with
Bifidobacterium breve NCIMB 702258 and
Bifidobacterium breve DPC6330 had altered brain
fatty acids and gut microbiota.
‘The finding that bacteria in our gut influence
brain fatty acid composition opens up new
possibilities for the use of probiotic foods in
the promotion of human health and mental well
being”, said Catherine Stanton, senior author on
the publication and Principal Investigator at
the Science Foundation Ireland funded Alimentary
Pharmabiotic Centre, at Teagasc.
The researchers showed that mice fed with the
conjugated linoleic acid CLA-producing bacterium
B. breve NCIMB 702258 had increased levels of
two fatty acids ARA and DHA, which play
important roles in neurogenesis,
neurotransmission and protection against
oxidative stress and whose levels in the brain
influence cognition.
The researchers also showed that feeding with
the CLA-producing B. breve strains is strain
dependent on both the fatty acid composition of
the mouse brain and on the microbial community
in the gut.
These findings could lead to designer probiotics
for improved cognition and brain function.
CLA is a fatty acid that is produced in
different versions by different bacteria.
Previously, Dr Stanton’s group have demonstrated
that gut microbes have an impact on host
metabolism, and in particular fat composition in
liver and adipose tissue in different animal
species. They have also shown that microbially
produced CLA may have a role in the prevention
and treatment of obesity and that CLA was able
to reduce the viability of colon cancer cells by
92%.
The research is published online ahead of print
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
2012; Authors: Rebecca Wall, Tatiana M Marques,
Orla O'Sullivan, R Paul Ross, Fergus Shanahan,
Eamonn M Quigley, Timothy G Dinan, Barry Kiely,
Gerald F Fitzgerald, Paul D Cotter, Fiona Fouhy,
and Catherine Stanton “Contrasting effects of
Bifidobacterium breve NCIMB 702258 and
Bifidobacterium breve DPC 6330 on the
composition of murine brain fatty acids and gut
microbiota” Am J Clin Nutr 2012 ajcn.026435;
First published online April 4, 2012.
doi:10.3945/ajcn.111.026435