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

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.

Keywords: BB blueberry; Blueberries; BrdU bromodeoxyuridine; IGF-1 insulin-like growth factor 1; INF inflammation; Learning; MWM Morris water maze; Neurogenesis; OS oxidative stress; SB strawberry; Spatial memory; Strawberries; Stress signalling; TBST Tris-buffered saline with Tween.