Modulation of Gut Microbiota and Neuroprotective Effect of a Yeast-Enriched Beer

Abstract

Beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage worldwide. It is rich in nutrients, and with its microbial component it could play a role in gut microbiota modulation. Conflicting data are currently available regarding the consequences of alcohol and alcohol-containing beverages on dementia and age-associated disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegeneration characterized by protein aggregation, inflammatory processes and alterations of components of the gut–brain axis. The effects of an unfiltered and unpasteurized craft beer on AD molecular hallmarks, levels of gut hormones and composition of micro/mycobiota were dissected using 3xTg-AD mice. In addition, to better assess the role of yeasts, beer was enriched with the same Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain used for brewing. The treatment with the yeast-enriched beer ameliorated cognition and favored the reduction of Aβ(1-42) and pro-inflammatory molecules, also contributing to an increase in the concentration of anti-inflammatory cytokines. A significant improvement in the richness and presence of beneficial taxa in the gut bacterial population of the 3xTg-AD animals was observed. In addition, the fungal order, Sordariomycetes, associated with gut inflammatory conditions, noticeably decreased with beer treatments. These data demonstrate, for the first time, the beneficial effects of a yeast-enriched beer on AD signs, suggesting gut microbiota modulation as a mechanism of action.

Engineering Auxetic Cylinders and Intestine to Improve Longitudinal Intestinal Lengthening and Tailoring Procedure

“…At the same time, the connection with an artificial auxetic intestine will reduce the afterload for chyme transfer. These results are encouraging in view of a recent study [ 29 ] showing that a treatment with the yeast-enriched beer favored the reduction of pro-inflammatory molecules, contributing to an increase in the concentration of anti-inflammatory cytokines. The beneficial effects of a yeast-enriched beer on gut microbiota modulation will pave the way for a safe utilization of such materials in the LILT procedure.…”

Gut Microbiome and Mycobiome Alterations in an In Vivo Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

“…However, β diversity, as obtained by unweighted UniFrac distance measure, showed a significantly different microbial composition between AD and WT mice ( p < 0.005, Figure 1 D), even if not confirmed by using the weighted UniFrac distance metric ( Figure 1 E). As already reported elsewhere [ 17 ], unweighted and weighted UniFrac measures are respectively a quality-based and a quantity-based index. Thus, the result reported herein may indicate that the variation between the two compared groups is not due to the taxa abundances but rather to the type of taxa present in the microbiome.…”

“…Mycobiome analysis of fecal communities was carried out on the same samples to assess also fungal composition. Specific custom primers for ITS1 amplification were used as previously reported [ 17 ]. After this first-round PCR and a beads-based purification step (AMPure XP beads, Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA), the amplicons were quality assessed by using a D1000 ScreenTape (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) and further amplified to allow samples indication and add the sequencing adapters.…”

“…Moreover, the same formulation was found to reduce the oxidative stress by a sirtuin-1 (SIRT1)-dependent mechanism [ 14 ], to ameliorate glucose homeostasis and decrease phosphorylated tau aggregates [ 15 ], and to positively impact lipid metabolism [ 16 ]. Finally, we have recently evaluated the effects of a yeast-enriched beer on the gut microbiota and neurodegeneration of 3xTg-AD mice, showing a positive modulation in the treated group [ 17 ]. Since 3xTg-AD mice are a common model used for studying AD related-features and the underlying mechanisms, including gut microbiota modifications, the definition of the microbial differences between 3xTg-AD and wild-type (WT) mice may be important to design more targeted studies.…”

Beer and Microbiota: Pathways for a Positive and Healthy Interaction

“…Some bacteria and fungi have also been identified in the beer, the most encountered being lactic acid bacteria ( Lactobacillales order, Bifidobacterium genus) and Saccharomyces spp. [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”