Hydroxytyrosol Mitigates Anxiety-Like Behaviors After a Traumatic Experience in Aged Mice in Parallel With Increased Neurogenesis in the Ventral and Dorsal Dentate Gyrus, and Preservation of Gut Microbiota Composition.
D'Andrea G, Bertini L, Costanzi M, Canini F, Bernini R
Phytochemicals
The olives growing in Mediterranean gardens — and in the bottle of extra-virgin olive oil in your kitchen — contain a compound that may help aging brains bounce back from trauma and keep gut health intact under stress.
Scientists gave older mice a natural chemical found in olive oil, then put the mice through a stressful experience. The mice that got the olive oil compound grew more new brain cells in the area linked to anxiety, and they stayed calmer afterward compared to untreated mice. The compound also kept the mice's gut bacteria healthier during stress, hinting that what you eat can shape both your gut and your brain's ability to handle hard experiences.
Key Findings
Hydroxytyrosol increased new neuron and neuroblast production in both hippocampal regions, with the strongest effect in the ventral (anxiety-regulating) region of aged mice.
HTyr-treated mice showed significantly reduced fear sensitization and anxiety-like behavior after a traumatic event, though contextual memory discrimination was not improved.
HTyr preserved the stability of key gut microbial families disrupted by stress, pointing to a microbiota-gut-brain axis as part of its protective mechanism.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A natural compound from olive oil called hydroxytyrosol helped aged mice recover from traumatic stress by stimulating the growth of new brain cells and stabilizing gut bacteria disrupted by stress. Researchers suggest it may hold promise as a treatment for age-related vulnerability to PTSD.
Abstract Preview
Hydroxytyrosol (HTyr), a phenolic compound present in olive oil, exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties, benefiting several age-related diseases. Our previous resea...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Phase separation of the redox sensor RCD1 mediates differential ROS signals t...
Understanding how plants decide when to grow versus when to fight stress could lead to crops that are both more productive and more resilient to drought, dis...
The olive is a species of subtropical evergreen tree in the family Oleaceae. Originating in Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean Basin, with wild subspecies in Africa and western Asia; modern cultivars are traced primarily to the Near East, Aegean Sea, and Strait of Gibraltar. ...