Prolonged oral intake of green tea polyphenols attenuates delirium-like behaviors in mice induced by anesthesia/surgery

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a severe postoperative complication characterized by delirium-like symptoms. So far, no effective preventable strategy for POD prevention has been identified. Reports show that the consumption of green tea polyphenols (GTP) is associated with better cognitive function by modulating the composition of gut microbiota. Whether GTP also play a role in alleviating POD through gut microbiota is unknown. Herein, we studied the effect of prolonged (eight weeks) GTP intake on postoperative delirium in C57BL/6 mice with laparotomies under isoflurane anesthesia (anesthesia/surgery). We subsequently investigated anesthesia/surgery caused behavioral changes and increased the expression of malondialdehyde (MAD), an oxidative stress marker, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), an antioxidant marker, in the mice at 6 h after anesthesia/surgery. However, GTP administration reversed these changes and alleviated anesthesia/surgery-induced decrease in the abundance of gut bacterial genera, Roseburia. Further, fecal microbiota transplant demonstrated that compared with mice in the control group, treatment of C57BL/6 mice with feces from GTP-treated mice had a slight effect on the behavioral changes of mice. These data suggest that daily consumption of GTP could protect against anesthesia/surgery-induced behavioral changes, which is closely associated with gut microbiota modification by GTP.