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(OR08-03-26) Associations of Vegetable and Fruit Intake With the Gut Microbiome, Plasma Metabolites, and Cognitive Function: Results From a Prospective Cohort of Chinese Older Adults

Sunday, July 26, 2026
8:54 AM - 9:06 AM ET
Location: Maryland Ballroom C

    Presenting Author(s)

  • MZ

    Mengjia Zhao, PhD Candidate

    866, Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
    Center of Clinical Big Data and Analytics of the Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine
    Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China (People's Republic)

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • GH

    Gulisiya Hailili, Public health physician qualification certificate

    Zhejiang University School of Medicine
    hangzhou, Zhejiang, China (People's Republic)

    • Co-Author(s)

  • JS

    Jie Shen

    Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China (People's Republic)

  • YH

    Yuhui Huang

    Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China (People's Republic)

  • XW

    Xiaofeng Wang

    Fudan University, China (People's Republic)

  • YZ

    Yan Zheng

    Fudan University, China (People's Republic)

  • CY

    Changzheng Yuan

    Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China (People's Republic)

Disclosure(s):
Mengjia Zhao, PhD Candidate: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Objectives: The gut ecosystem provides a potential link between vegetables or fruits (VF) intake, metabolome, and host health, yet this interplay is poorly understood. Here, we aimed to investigate the associations of VF intake with the gut microbiome, plasma metabolites, and cognitive function, and to explore whether microbial features and metabolites mediate the VF-cognition association.

Methods: We included 784 adults aged 70–98 from the Rugao Longevity and Ageing Study. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Gut microbiome and plasma metabolites were profiled by shotgun metagenomics and targeted metabolomics. Cognitive function was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination. Linear regression and mixed-effects models examined associations of VF intake with microbial features, metabolites, and cognition, adjusting for covariates. Mediation analyses evaluated potential microbial and metabolic mediation.

Results: Higher intake of total vegetables, other vegetables, total fruits, berries, and other fruits was significantly associated with better cognitive performance. We identified VF-related gut microbial features, including shifts in overall microbial structure (β diversity), 9 species, 15 genera, and 42 functional pathways (FDR < 0.25). Mediation analyses showed that a composite score of vegetable-associated microbial species mediated 18.5% of the longitudinal association between total vegetable intake and cognitive function, with Bacteroides xylanisolvens as the dominant contributor. Additionally, 88 metabolites were associated with VF intake, with berries showing the strongest metabolic associations (71 metabolites). A composite score of total vegetable-associated metabolites mediated 9.3% of the total vegetable-cognition association, with key mediators including 2-hydroxy-3-methylbutyric acid and Erythronic acid. Similarly, a composite score of berry-associated metabolites mediated 6.7% of the berry-cognition association.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that vegetables and fruits intake is associated with the gut microbial environment. The identified microbial features and metabolites may serve as potential pathways for preventing cognitive aging.

Funding Sources: Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China