抄録
Aging is an inevitable part of life for humans and is associated with a decline in the physical and functional capacity of tissues and organs. Cognitive dysfunction, in particular, has emerged as a major debilitating disorder associated with old age. Age-related learning and memory deficits are widely accepted to be caused by neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in the brain. High expression levels of neuroprotective factors such as neurotrophic factors and antioxidant enzymes could contribute to the maintenance of neurological function. There has been increasing interest in natural dietary bioactive compounds with potential neuroprotective and brain health benefits, including the prevention of cognitive impairment and dementia. Therapeutic modulation of the levels of neurotrophic factors is thus a promising treatment strategy for neurological and psychiatric disorders with dysregulated levels. Since initial cognition decline is believed to result from dysfunctional synaptic plasticity, the induction of neurotrophic factors such as BDNF and GDNF by dietary bioactive compounds appears to contribute to the prevention of the age-related cognition decline process. Phytochemicals and bioactive peptides have been demonstrated to possess a preventive effect on cognitive decline in different animal models and in human studies. This review is focused on the effects of dietary bioactive peptides on brain function as well as neurological function-related factors and on animal models for evaluating cognitive performance.
