Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate whether probiotic administration could protect against cognitive impairments in a scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment mice model. Male C57BL/6 mice (8 weeks of age) were injected with scopolamine hydrobromide to induce memory impairments. The experimental groups were additionally supplemented with 10(9) colony-forming units (CFU)/day probiotics containing Lactobacillus helveticus CNU395 or L. paracasei CNU396. Behavioral test results and histopathological evaluations showed that the spatial memory ability and pathological tissue abnormalities of the mice in the CNU395 and CNU396 groups significantly improved compared with those in the disease group. CNU395 and CNU396 mitigated scopolamine-induced neuroinflammation by reducing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α) and the NLRP3 inflammasome, through the inhibition of MAPK and NF-κB inflammatory pathways. Additionally, the CNU395 and CNU396 groups showed decreased levels of Iba-1 and Bax, alongside increased levels of BDNF and Bcl-2, relative to the disease group. Therefore, CNU395 or CNU396 supplementation might help prevent the onset of cognitive deficits and neuroinflammation.