Fatty acid amides present in Camembert cheese improved cognitive decline after oral administration in mice

Kohei Kawano; Maiko Shobako; Taichi Furukawa; Tatsuhiro Toyooka; Kousaku Ohinata

doi:10.1016/j.neures.2024.03.002

Fatty acid amides present in Camembert cheese improved cognitive decline after oral administration in mice

Neurosci Res. 2024 Mar 7:S0168-0102(24)00040-3. doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2024.03.002. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Kohei Kawano¹, Maiko Shobako¹, Taichi Furukawa¹, Tatsuhiro Toyooka¹, Kousaku Ohinata²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
² Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan. Electronic address: ohinata.kousaku.3n@kyoto-u.ac.jp.

PMID: 38458493
DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2024.03.002

Abstract

Herein, we investigated the effects of Camembert cheese (CC) and its fatty acid contents on cognitive function in mice by employing the object recognition test to evaluate hippocampus-dependent memory. Orally administered CC improved the cognitive decline induced by a high-fat diet. Next, we focused on myristamide (MA), oleamide, and stearamide, which are fatty acid amides produced during the fermentation process of CC. We found that oral administration of MA improved cognitive decline. Notably, an improvement was not observed using myristic acid, a free fatty acid that is not amidated. Thus, fatty acid amidation may contribute to the physiological activity. Moreover, we investigated changes in gene expression related to neurogenesis in the hippocampus. After MA administration, mRNA expression analysis indicated that MA increased hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression.

Keywords: Cognitive function; Fatty acid amide; Neurotrophic factor.