A Diet Containing EGCG and Beta‐Alanine Decreases Mortality and Improves Balance in Aged Mice, but Does Not Affect Cognitive Function

Abstract

We have shown that 40 days on a diet containing epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and beta‐alanine (B‐Ala) was not effective in improving cognitive or muscle function in aged (18 mo) mice (Gibbons et al. Behav Brain Res 2014). However, ECGC+B‐Ala diet reduced oxidative stress in the brain, and previous studies using longer interventions have documented beneficial effects on cognition. Therefore, we investigated the effect of 6 mo of ECGC+B‐Ala on measures of cognitive and muscle function in mice. Male Balb/c mice (12 mo, N=15/group) were fed AIN‐93M containing 0.15% EGCG and 0.34% B‐Ala or standard AIN‐93M for 6 mo, then underwent tests for cognitive and muscle function. Interestingly, a higher percentage of mice receiving EGCG+B‐Ala (80%) survived to study end compared to control (40%, p=.02). ECGC+B‐Ala did not affect novel arm preference in the Y‐maze (p=.74) and did not alter performance in an active avoidance test (p=.16). ECGC+B‐Ala increased rotarod performance (p=.03), did not affect grip strength (p=.91), and decreased time to exhaustion in a treadmill test (p=.02). In conclusion, ECGC+B‐Ala may reduce mortality, but this did not directly relate to changes in cognitive or muscle function.