Effects of Oral Anthocyanin Supplementation on in Vitro Neurogenesis, Hippocampus-Dependent Cognition, and Blood-Based Dementia Biomarkers: Results from a 24-Week Randomized Controlled Trial in Older Adults at Risk for Dementia (ACID)

Background: Identifying compounds with neuroprotective properties that target the neurogenic process will have a considerable impact on dementia prevention. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a 24-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled anthocyanin supplementation trial in 181 participants. Using blood-derived serum collected during this trial, we treated hippocampal progenitor cells and analysed the ensuing cellular changes in the context of the participant’s clinical and blood-based biomarker data. Results: We show that anthocyanin supplementation impacts hippocampal progenitor cells and that this can impact hippocampal-dependent cognition. We also show for the first time that blood-based dementia biomarkers correlate with human in vitro neurogenesis markers. Conclusions: Our data demonstrates moderator effects of BMI and ApoE4 carrier status and supports the need for more individualised trials. Further studies are warranted to explore the mechanism of action of anthocyanins and the use of blood-based biomarkers for clinical trial enrichment, trial individualization, and therapy development. Trial registration: NCT03419039; date first registered: 15/01/2018.