The (prebiotic and probiotic) functional cookie can promote healthy aging by exploiting gut brain axis.

This simple and affordable dietary approach can prevent or delay the onset of neurodegenerations.

Diet supplementation with this synbiotic preparation can preserve cognition in 3xTgAD mice.

Compared to a classical cookie this synbiotic snack improved glucose and lipid homeostasis.

The (prebiotic and probiotic) functional cookie reduced amyloid load in 3xTg-AD mice.

The functional cookie diminished oxidation and inflammation related damages in 3xTg-AD mice.

Gut microbiota preservation or rational manipulation is a key condition for healthy longevity and a promising strategy to prevent neurodegenerations exploiting the gut-brain axis, with a key role of prebiotics and probiotics. Whether their combination in a functional food can provide a synergistic effect to the host remains controversial. To fill this gap, we supplemented the diet of 3xTg-AD Alzheimer's disease mice with a red lentils (prebiotic)-based cookie enriched with neuroprotective probiotics and we performed behavioural, biochemical and molecular tests. Chronic consumption of this synbiotic preparation (functional cookie) preserved cognition, reduced amyloid load, improved glucose and lipid homeostasis and diminished oxidation and inflammation related damages compared to animals receiving a classic cookie (standard recipe). The synergistic effect was indicated by significantly higher glucose insulinotropic polypeptide concentrations in the functional cookie group compared to probiotic group. Moreover, Ruminoclostridium sp KB18 and Ruminicoccus decreased in the gut of mice supplemented with the functional cookie, partially explaining the improved short-term memory upon treatments and substantiating the combined use over individual components. This synbiotic innovative snack represents a prototype of a simple and affordable dietary approach to promote healthy aging and prevent or delay the onset of neurodegenerations.

Functional cookie

Synbiotic

Neurodegeneration

Healthy aging

Gut-brain axis

advanced glycation end products

glucose insulinotropic polypeptide

glucagon like peptide 1

novel object recognition

© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.