Yeast beta-glucan reduces Alzheimer's-like symptoms caused by a high-fat diet in rats through the gut-brain connection

80 weeks of β-glucan treatment improved cognitive dysfunction in rats with high-fat diet-induced Alzheimer's disease-like pathologies.

• Long-term β-glucan treatment mitigated cognitive dysfunction associated with a high-fat diet in rats.
• In the hippocampus, β-glucan reduced the activation of certain immune cells and inflammatory pathways linked to Alzheimer's disease.
• β-glucan positively influenced the gut microbiota by increasing levels of beneficial bacteria and short-chain fatty acids.
• The treatment helped restore gut barrier integrity, which was impaired by the high-fat diet.
• A correlation was observed among gut microbiota composition, short-chain fatty acid levels, and Alzheimer's disease-like pathologies.
• Fecal microbiota from β-glucan-treated rats and short-chain fatty acids treatment reduced Alzheimer's-like pathologies via an inflammatory pathway.

Simplified