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Could a Mediterranean Diet Modulate Alzheimer’s Disease Progression? The Role of Gut Microbiota and Metabolite Signatures in Neurodegeneration
Alice Njolke Mafe, Dietrich Büsselberg. Foods, 2025-04-29
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, represent a growing global health crisis, yet current treatment strategies remain primarily palliative. Recent studies have shown that neurodegeneration through complex interactions within the gut-brain axis largely depends on the gut microbiota and its metabolites. This review explores the intricate molecular mechanisms linking gut microbiota dysbiosis to cognitive decline, emphasizing the impact of microbial metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile acids, and tryptophan metabolites, on neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity, and amyloid-β and tau pathology. The paper highlights major microbiome signatures associated with Alzheimer's disease, detailing their metabolic pathways and inflammatory crosstalk. Dietary interventions have shown promise in modulating gut microbiota composition, potentially mitigating neurodegenerative processes. This review critically examines the influence of dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean and Western diets, on microbiota-mediated neuroprotection. Bioactive compounds like prebiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, and polyphenols exhibit neuroprotective effects by modulating gut microbiota and reducing neuroinflammation. Furthermore, it discusses emerging microbiome-based therapeutic strategies, including probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), as potential interventions for slowing Alzheimer's progression. Despite these advances, several knowledge gaps remain, including interindividual variability in microbiome responses to dietary interventions and the need for large-scale, longitudinal studies. The study proposes an integrative, precision medicine approach, incorporating microbiome science into Alzheimer's treatment paradigms. Ultimately, cognizance of the gut-brain axis at a mechanistic level could unlock novel therapeutic avenues, offering a non-invasive, diet-based strategy for managing neurodegeneration and improving cognitive health.
Key findings
- Recent studies have shown that neurodegeneration through complex interactions within the gut-brain axis largely depends on the gut microbiota and its metabolites.
- The paper highlights major microbiome signatures associated with Alzheimer's disease, detailing their metabolic pathways and inflammatory crosstalk.
Why it matters
This review explores how gut bacteria and their metabolites may influence neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier integrity, and amyloid-beta and tau pathology, and how diets like the Mediterranean diet might modify this. It is a review of existing evidence, not a trial, so it does not establish that any diet prevents or treats Alzheimer's.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 56/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Foods) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Foods: journal h-index 189 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 30 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 30 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Dietrich Büsselberg: h-index 66 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Weill Cornell Medicine: institution h-index 1,163 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40361641) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 56 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Mafe, A. N., & Büsselberg, D. (2025). Could a Mediterranean Diet Modulate Alzheimer’s Disease Progression? The Role of Gut Microbiota and Metabolite Signatures in Neurodegeneration. Foods. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14091559
Vancouver
Mafe AN, Büsselberg D. Could a Mediterranean Diet Modulate Alzheimer’s Disease Progression? The Role of Gut Microbiota and Metabolite Signatures in Neurodegeneration. Foods. 2025. doi:10.3390/foods14091559. PMID: 40361641.
BibTeX
@article{mafe2025-40361641,
author = {Mafe, Alice Njolke and Büsselberg, Dietrich},
title = {{Could a Mediterranean Diet Modulate Alzheimer’s Disease Progression? The Role of Gut Microbiota and Metabolite Signatures in Neurodegeneration}},
journal = {Foods},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.3390/foods14091559},
pmid = {40361641},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14091559}
}
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Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
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3 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.