Functional efficacy of tempeh oil microemulsion containing omega 3 for Alzheimer’s protection

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with ageing symptoms due to stress oxidative, neuroinflammation, acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase activation, and Tau hyperphosphorylation. Tempeh has been recognized as one of the Indonesian traditional fermented foods made from soybean fermentation with a microbial consortium. Our previous study demonstrated that tempeh oil contains polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and antioxidants for ageing prevention. Tempeh oil rich in PUFAs may be developed as a modern functional supplement for AD protection. This study aimed to extract tempeh oil, formulate a tempeh oil microemulsion supplement, and determine its functional efficacy towards Alzheimer's protection via AD-related enzymatic inhibition, antioxidant capability, and AD-related gene regulation in Schwann neuronal cell model in vitro. Tempeh oil microemulsion contained omega 3 and exerted acetylcholinesterase inhibitory and antioxidant activities. Tempeh oil microemulsion also had the capability of gene regulation related to AD in the lipopolysaccharide-induced Schwann neuronal cells model. These findings indicated that tempeh oil microemulsion effectively suppressed the gene expression of BACE, APP, and TNF-α, and increased the NTrK and BDNF gene expression in Schwann neuronal cells induced by lipopolysaccharide. Therefore, tempeh oil microemulsion containing omega 3 could be offered as an alternative modern functional food supplement for ageing protection in particular AD.