The impairment of glucose metabolism and the lower efficiency of mitochondria during aging are an important cause of cognitive decline in old age. To date, no pharmacological intervention has proven effective even if it is widely reported that an adequate diet and lifestyle can delay and prevent neuro-degenerative phenomena.

The membranes of neuronal cells are rich in polyunsaturated lipids that are sensitive to the action of proteins involved in the consolidation of synaptic connections. Our body can not synthesize them and it is therefore necessary to take them with a proper diet (rich in fish, unsaturated fats, etc.)

Starting from these data, researchers in a study conducted in 2018, evaluated the efficacy of some phospholipid based nutraceuticals administered to rats aged for 3 months. In particular, the concentrated fraction of phospholipids of krill oil and the fraction of membrane phospholipids of the buttermilk fat globules showed alone and in association an insulin action, with improved peripheral and central insulin resistance, an increase mitochondrial activity, with an increase in intracellular levels of ATP, and an increase in synaptic activity in the hippocampus with increased levels of brain neurotrophic factor.

Dietary supplementation with unsaturated phospholipids may protect the neuronal cells’ viability and delay age-related cognitive decline.

Tomé-Carneiro, Joao, et al. “Buttermilk and Krill Oil Phospholipids Improve Hippocampal Insulin Resistance and Synaptic Signaling in Aged Rats.” Molecular Neurobiology(2018): 1-12.