Chronic daily consumption of flavanone-rich 100% orange juice over 8 wk is beneficial for cognitive function in healthy older adults. The potential for flavanone-rich foods and drinks to attenuate cognitive decline in aging and the mechanisms that underlie these effects should be investigated.

Purpose Epidemiological evidence suggests that chronic consumption of fruit-based flavonoids is associated with cognitive benefits; however, the acute effects of flavonoid-rich (FR) drinks on cognitive function in the immediate postprandial period require examination. The objective was to investigate whether consumption of FR orange juice is associated with acute cognitive benefits over 6 h in healthy middle-aged adults.MethodsMales aged 30–65 consumed a 240-ml FR orange juice (272 mg) and a calorie-matched placebo in a randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced order on 2 days separated by a 2-week washout. Cognitive function and subjective mood were assessed at baseline (prior to drink consumption) and 2 and 6 h post consumption. The cognitive battery included eight individual cognitive tests. A standardized breakfast was consumed prior to the baseline measures, and a standardized lunch was consumed 3 h post-drink consumption.ResultsChange from baseline analysis revealed that performance on tests of executive function and psychomotor speed was significantly better following the FR drink compared to the placebo. The effects of objective cognitive function were supported by significant benefits for subjective alertness following the FR drink relative to the placebo.ConclusionsThese data demonstrate that consumption of FR orange juice can acutely enhance objective and subjective cognition over the course of 6 h in healthy middle-aged adults.

BACKGROUND: Consumption of flavonoids, natural compounds found in foods such as berries and cocoa, have been shown to be beneficial for cognitive function. However, less is known about potential mechanisms and acute benefits for the older population. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether acute intake of flavonoid-rich blueberry could have beneficial effects on cognitive function in a sample of healthy older adults and identify possible mechanisms. METHODS: A cross-over randomised controlled trial (RCT) was conducted (N = 18) with volunteers receiving a flavonoidrich blueberry beverage (579mg of antho-and pro-cyanidins) on one visit and a sugar-matched control on another. Cognitive function was measured at baseline, 2 and 5 hours post consumption of the intervention and blood pressure (BP), arterial stiffness and plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration at baseline and an hour post-intervention. RESULTS: Whilst there was no significant effect of the intervention on global cognitive function, performance was significantly different at 2 compared to 5 hours following the control beverage (p < 0.05), with a decline in performance relative to baseline at 2 hours, whereas cognitive function improved following the blueberry beverage at both post intervention time points. There was also a trend towards the blueberry beverage attenuating the increase in systolic BP evident following the control drink (p = 0.08). Finally, there was a decrease in plasma concentration of BDNF post consumption of the control drink which was attenuated following the blueberry beverage, although not significantly (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of flavonoid-rich blueberry could have a potentially protective effect on cognitive function in healthy older adults, possibly due to improved cerebrovascular function and positive interactions with cell signalling pathways involved in cognitive processes.

Research has suggested a number of beneficial effects arising from the consumption of dietary flavonoids, found in foods such as cocoa, apples, tea, citrus fruits and berries on cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and endothelial dysfunction. These effects are thought to have a significant impact upon both vascular and cerebrovascular health, ultimately with the potential to prevent cardiovascular and potentially neurodegenerative disease with a vascular component, for example vascular dementia. This review explores the current evidence for the effects of flavonoid supplementation on human endothelial function and both peripheral and cerebral blood flow (CBF). Evidence presented includes their potential to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive individuals, as well as increasing peripheral blood perfusion and promoting CBF in both healthy and at-risk populations. However, there is great variation in the literature due to the heterogeneous nature of the randomised controlled trials conducted. As such, there is a clear need for further research and understanding within this area in order to maximise potential health benefits.

We investigated the effect of age-related decline in executive ability on the application of emergent features to incongruent social category conjunctions (e.g., male midwife). When forming an impression of an incongruent conjunction, older adults used more emergent attributes (attributes associated exclusively with the category conjunction and not the constituents), relative to younger adults. Moreover, this relationship was mediated by a reduction in inhibitory ability (measured using a Stroop task) and processing speed (measured using a Digit Symbol Substitution Test, DSST). These findings are consistent with the notion that executive ability is pivotal in understanding social functioning in older adults. We discuss the implications of these findings for the continuing development of models outlining the processes and stages involved in perceiving social category conjunctions.