Effects of Different Foxtail Millet Addition Amounts on the Cognitive Ability of Mice

Excessive intake of foxtail millet may negatively affect health status due to its low protein digestibility and anti-nutritional factors. And early-life nutritional supplementation dramatically influences health status. This study aims to investigate the impact of different foxtail millet additions in early life, including 30%, 50%, and 70%, on the cognitive ability of mice to clarify its effect on the health of mice partially. Both 50% and 70% foxtail millet diets caused cognitive impairment in mice. Furthermore, mice in the 70% foxtail millet group exhibited the most evident changes in gut microbiota and fecal metabolic profile. The bacteria Ileibacterium, unclassified_f__Erysipelotrichaceae, Bifidobacterium, Staphylococcus, and Blautia marked the changes in the intestinal flora of mice. And tryptophan metabolism and arginine and proline metabolism were the two pathways that contributed the most to the metabolic profile changes of mice fed with 50% and 70% foxtail millet diets. The cognitive impairment in mice due to 50% and 70% foxtail millet intake was associated with gut microbiota alterations.