Regulatory Effects of Functional Food Biscuits on Mouse Brain Function and Gut Microbiota

The concept of food-medicine homology, derived from traditional Chinese dietary culture, endows functional food biscuits with both nutritional value and therapeutic potency. Such biscuits are abundant in bioactive compounds including polysaccharides, dietary fiber, and flavonoids, which may exert regulatory effects through the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA). This study explored the impacts of functional biscuits formulated with Gastrodia elata Bl., Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf, Coix lacryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen (Roman.) Stapf, Sesamum indicum L., Juglans regia L., and Ziziphus jujuba Mill. on intestinal microbiota and cerebral biochemical indicators in mice. Mice were assigned to four groups: control, low-dose, medium-dose, and high-dose biscuit groups. We measured serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β), hippocampal acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), as well as cerebral superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, and profiled intestinal microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The low-dose group exhibited optimal modulation of hippocampal AChE and BDNF, concurrent with reshaped intestinal microbiota and elevated abundance of beneficial bacterial taxa. Intervention doses exerted significant effects on microbial diversity; genera such as unclassified Atopobiaceae, Facklamia, and Staphylococcus were significantly correlated with changes in cerebral biomarkers. Collectively, these compound biscuits remodel the intestinal microbiota to ameliorate brain function, antioxidant capacity, and inflammatory status via the MGBA, demonstrating great potential for maintaining cognitive and neurological health.