Beyond Calories: Exosome-Enriched Rations for Cognitive Resilience in Military Operations

Military operations require sustained cognitive performance, stress tolerance, and physiological stability under conditions such as sleep deprivation, caloric restriction, and chronic psychological stress. Conventional military nutrition is predominantly energy-focused and may not adequately support cognitive resilience during prolonged or high-intensity missions. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoscale, membrane-bound particles released by cells; their bioactive cargo (proteins, lipids, and microRNAs (miRNAs)) can modulate immunity, inflammation, and inter-organ communication. Growing evidence from functional foods and translational medicine suggests that EV-based systems may serve as 'bioinformational nutrients' that complement calories by supporting neuroimmune and gut-brain axis pathways. We performed a narrative integrative review of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science covering ۲۰۱۵-۲۰۲۵, focusing on nutrition-relevant EV interventions including stem cell-derived exosomes, plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles, and probiotic-derived EVs/postbiotic vesicles. Across the included literature, stem cell-derived exosomes show anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective signaling in clinical and translational settings; plant-derived vesicles offer scalable, orally stable platforms with intrinsic antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties; and probiotic-derived vesicles provide a non-viable, logistics-friendly route to support microbiota-host signaling. Collectively, these findings motivate a shift from calorie-based sustenance toward resilience-oriented rations. Rigorous standardization, dose-finding, safety assessment, and evaluation of cognitive and operational endpoints are needed before routine implementation in military nutrition systems.

کلیدواژه ها:

Extracellular vesicles ، Exosomes ، Plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles ، Probiotic-derived extracellular vesicles ، Postbiotics ، Military nutrition ، Cognitive resilience ، Stress adaptation ، Gut-brain axis