Serum Metabolomics Profiling of Commercially Mixed Functional Foods—Effects in Beta-Amyloid Induced Rats Measured Using 1H NMR Spectroscopy

Abstract

Functional foods such as pomegranate, dates and honey were shown by various previous studies to individually have a neuroprotective effect, especially in neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this novel and original study, an 1H NMR spectroscopy tool was used to identify the metabolic neuroprotective mechanism of commercially mixed functional foods (MFF) consisting of pomegranate, dates and honey, in rats injected with amyloid-beta 1-42 (Aβ-42). Forty-five male albino Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: NC (0.9% normal saline treatment + phosphate buffer solution (PBS) solution injection), Abeta (0.9% normal saline treatment + 0.2 µg/µL Aβ-42 injection), MFF (4 mL/kg MFF treatment + PBS solution injection), Abeta–MFF (4 mL/kg MFF treatment + 0.2 µg/µL Aβ-42 injection) and Abeta–NAC (150 mg/kg N-acetylcysteine + 0.2 µg/µL Aβ-42 injection). Based on the results, the MFF and NAC treatment improved the spatial memory and learning using Y-maze. In the metabolic analysis, a total of 12 metabolites were identified, for which levels changed significantly among the treatment groups. Systematic metabolic pathway analysis found that the MFF and NAC treatments provided a neuroprotective effect in Aβ-42 injected rats by improving the acid amino and energy metabolisms. Overall, this finding showed that MFF might serve as a potential neuroprotective functional food for the prevention of AD.

The Potential Use of Honey as a Neuroprotective Agent for the Management of Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…A total of eight articles were found to use honey or its derivatives as preventive or therapeutic agents via in vivo investigations for various neurodegenerative disorders. Out of these, three in vivo studies [ 35 , 36 , 37 ] investigated the effect of honey on AD, whereas only one in vivo article [ 38 ] investigated the role of honey products on ALS. Mohd Sairazi and his team conducted two in vivo investigations [ 38 , 39 ] on the role of honey in curbing the effect of status epilepticus and other neurodegenerative disorders induced through excitotoxicity.…”

“…In 2020, Rosli et al studied the role of MFF at 4 mL/kg against Aꞵ at 40 μg/200 μL concentration on rats using metabolomic 1H NMR spectroscopy analysis [ 36 ]. Key constituents of the commercial MFF utilized in this research were concoctions of pomegranate, date, and honey [ 36 ]. Twenty-nine metabolites were found in the tested groups.…”

“…The identified metabolites were then analyzed for their significance in metabolic pathways as possible biomarkers. Metabolic pathways analysis revealed that the identified metabolites were involved in amino acid and energy metabolisms [ 36 ]. One of the significant metabolites was leucine, which was elevated in the Aꞵ-42 group and decreased in the Aꞵ-42-MFF group.…”

“…One of the significant metabolites was leucine, which was elevated in the Aꞵ-42 group and decreased in the Aꞵ-42-MFF group. Leucine is a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA), in which its elevation is known to be related to neurotoxicity through microglia activation [ 36 ]. Other than that, the Aꞵ-42-MFF group had elevated levels of glutamine, which is known to have a neuroprotective effect due to its anti-inflammatory effects [ 36 ].…”

Preventive Impact of Long-Term Ingestion of Chestnut Honey on Glucose Disorders and Neurodegeneration in Obese Mice

“…However, honey supplementation attenuated these detrimental effects suggesting a neuroprotective effect of chronic honey ingestion. Moreover, previous studies on animals reported that intake of honey was beneficial and improved memory loss and cognitive decline caused by different conditions, such as aging, stress, ovariectomy [40][41][42] and neuroinflammation induced by Aβ-42 injection [43]. The beneficial effects of honey on the brain have been associated with the presence of components such as flavonoids and phenolic acids that can improve oxidative stress and oxidative stress-linked effects [17,44,45].…”