Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum BB68S Significantly Improves Cognitive Function in Healthy Older Adults

by | Feb 22, 2023 | 2022, Aging, Brain Health, Cognitive Health, Probiotics

Written by Taylor Woosley, Staff Writer. 10-week intervention using the probiotic BB68S resulted in significantly greater changes in total RBANS score and in 4 domains: immediate memory (p < 0.0001), visuospatial/constructional (p<0.001), attention (p < 0.001), and delayed memory (p < 0.0001) compared to the control group. 

elderly womanThe aging population is a significant social and medical problem due to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and neurodegenerative conditions in the elderly population1. The incidence of dementia, characterized by a progressive deterioration of memory and cognitive function, increases with age, affecting approximately 4-8% of those over the age of 652. Alzheimer’s disease is the central form of dementia and, despite being highly relevant for our society, medical treatment for preventing cognitive decline is still sparse3.

Probiotics are living microorganisms that promote health benefits when consumed in an adequate quantity4. They have received increasing attention for their potential to regulate brain health via the microbiota-gut-brain axis and through enhancing the brain-derived neurotrophic factor5. Emerging evidence shows that dysfunction in behavior and cognition is associated with gut dysbiosis6.

Shi et al. conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of BB68S in improving cognitive function in healthy older adults. Inclusion criteria consisted of being aged 60-75 years with healthy cognitive function based on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) screening tool. The study lasted for 10-weeks with a 2-week baseline period and an 8-week ingestion period. Participant’s demographic data, along with the examination for cognitive ability assessment using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), were obtained during the two-week baseline period. Furthermore, subject’s fecal samples were collected on day 14 ± 1 for gut microbiota analysis.

Participants (n=50) were randomly allocated to one of two groups: the probiotic (n=25) and placebo groups (n=25). Those in the probiotic group were required to consume a sachet of probiotic BB68S and the placebo group was given a sachet of maltodextrin powder without probiotics after lunch or dinner for 8 weeks. Subjects were informed to not change their normal dietary patterns or to consume probiotics during the intervention period. On day 70 ± 1, at the completion of the ingestion period, fecal samples were collected, and cognitive function of subjects was again evaluated using RBANS.

Normality tests were performed on all continuous variables using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. They calculated means (SDs) for continuous variables and counts (percentages) for categorical variables. Independent samples t-test was utilized for the comparison of continuous variables and the chi-square test was used for the comparison of categorical variables. For the primary outcome, RBANS scores at week 8, an analysis of covariance model adjusted for baseline scores was utilized to examine the difference between the probiotic and placebo groups. Significant findings of the study are as follows:

  • Probiotic BB68S intervention significantly enhanced cognitive function total score by 18.89 points (95% CI 14.98 to 22.80, p < 0.0001).
  • The BB68S group had significantly higher scores in 4 domains than the control group after 8 weeks of intervention. The score differences (95% confidence intervals) between groups were 4.36 (2.95 to 5.76, p < 0.0001) for immediate memory, 2.01 (1.18 to 2.83, p < 0.0001) for visuospatial/constructional, 7.29 (4.77 to 9.80, p < 0.0001) for attention, and 4.28 (95% CI 2.26 to 6.30, p < 0.0001) for delayed memory.

Results of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial shows that BB68S intervention significantly improved cognitive function. Furthermore, fecal samples after intervention show that BB68S improved the alpha diversity of the gut microbiota but the findings were not significant. Study limitations include the lack of biomarker analysis of the peripheral system and intestinal flora, the inability to strictly control subject’s diet during the intervention, and the relatively short duration of the study.

Source: Shi, Shaoqi, Qi Zhang, Yue Sang, Shaoyang Ge, Qi Wang, Ran Wang, and Jingjing He. “Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum BB68S Improves Cognitive Functions in Healthy Older Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.” Nutrients 15, no. 1 (2023): 51.

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Posted February 22, 2022.

Taylor Woosley studied biology at Purdue University before becoming a 2016 graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a major in Writing. She currently resides in Glen Ellyn, IL.

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