Improvement of extraction from Hericium erinaceus on the gut-brain axis in AD-like mice

Abstract

In this study, results showed the extractions of Hericium erinaceus can ameliorate the learning and memory abilities significantly, reduce the swelling of brain tissues, neuronal apoptosis, and down-regulate the expression of Alzheimer's disease intracellular markers including Tau and Aβ1-42. 16S rRNA sequencing of gut microbiota indicated that the extractions maintained the diversity and stability of the microbial community, rebalanced the ratio of Firmicutes/Proteobacteria, increased the abundance of some probiotics such as Lactobacillus and Akkermansia, and reduced some pathogenic bacteria and opportunistic pathogenic bacteria such as Enterobacteriaceae. In addition, Akkermanisa, Blautia, Oscillospira, Dehalobacterium, Ackermansia, Allobaculum and Coprococcus were up-regulated, and these bacteria have the effect of anti-intestinal inflammation.Some genera with inhibitory effects on inflammation, such as Desulfovibrio, Alistipes and Rikenellaceae, were down-regulated. Deep studies showed that multi-target compounds from Hericium erinaceus could target the gut microbiota, regulate the metabolism, inflammation, immunity and insulin to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The results suggested that extractions from Hericium erinaceus could be formulated as dietary supplement or/and drug treatments against Alzheimer's disease. However, these pharmacologically active ingredients and mode of action require clinical studies.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Brain-gut axis; Gut microbiota; Hericium erinaceus; Metabolomics; Proteomics.