Enzyme Engineering
Open Access

Abstract

Dietary intake of multivitamins, zinc, polyphenols, omega fatty acids, and probiotics have all shown benefits in learning, spatial memory, and cognitive function. It is important to determine the most effective combination of antioxidants and/or probiotics, because regular ingestion of all nutraceuticals may not be practical. This study examines various combinations of nutrients to determine which may best enhance spatial memory and cognitive performance. Based on the 31 possible combinations of multivitamins, zinc, polyphenols, omega-3 PUFAs, and probiotics, 128 house crickets (Acheta domesticus [L.]) were divided into one control group and 31 experimental groups with four house crickets in each group. Throughout 8 weeks, crickets were fed their respective nutrients, and an Alternation Test and Recognition Memory Tests were conducted every week using a Y-maze in order to test spatial working memory. The highest scoring diets shared by both tests are the combination of multivitamins, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids (VitZncPuf; Alternation:slope = 0.07226, Recognition Memory:slope = 0.07001), the combination of probiotics, polyphenols, multivitamins, zinc, and omega-3 PUFAs ( ProPolVitZncPuf; Alternation:slope = 0.07182, Recognition Memory:slope = 0.07001), the combination of probiotics, multivitamins, zinc, and omega-3 PUFA (ProVitZncPuf; Alternation:slope = 0.06999, Recognition Memory:slope = 0.07001), and the combination of polyphenols, multivitamins, zinc, and omega-3 PUFA (PolVitZncPuf; Alternation:slope = 0.06873, Recognition Memory:slope = 0.06956). All of the nutrient combinations demonstrated a benefit over the control diet, but the most significant improvement compared to the control was found in the VitZncPuf, ProVitZncPuf, PolVitZncPuf, and ProPolVitZncPuf. Since this study found no significant difference between the performance and improvement of subjects within these four groups, the combination of multivitamins, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids (VitZncPuf) was concluded to be the most effective option for improving memory and cognitive performance. This outcome could be applied to humans as well, especially in childhood education, since quality of nutrition can have a significant effect on memory and learning. Especially with our current disparity, which leads to food deserts and differing access to quality food, this may reveal changes to be made in mass nutrition to support cognitive performance and learning.

Author Info

Published: 22-Nov-2021

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.