Psychobiotic
Microorganisms giving mental health effects
Psychobiotics is a term used in preliminary research to refer to live bacteria that, when ingested in appropriate amounts, might confer a mental health benefit by affecting microbiota of the host organism.[ 1] Whether bacteria might play a role in the gut-brain axis is under research. A 2020 literature review suggests that the consumption of psychobiotics could be considered as a viable option to restore mental health[ 2] although lacking randomized controlled trials on clear mental health outcomes in humans.[ 3] [ 4]
Types
Fructans
In experimental probiotic psychobiotics, the bacteria most commonly used are gram-positive bacteria , such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus families, as these do not contain lipopolysaccharide chains, reducing the likelihood of an immunological response .[ 1] Prebiotics are substances, such as fructans and oligosaccharides , that induce the growth or activity of beneficial microorganisms , such as bacteria on being fermented in the gut.[ 1] [ 5] Multiple bacterial species contained in a single probiotic broth is known as a polybiotic.[ 6]
Research
A 2021 review showed that treating anxiety in young people with psychobiotics had no significant effect.[ 7] There is a need for more diverse human studies, mainly because those that exist have contradictory outcomes.[ 3] [ 4] [ 7]
Species
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Several species of bacteria have been used in probiotic psychobiotic research:[ 6] [ 8]
References
^ a b c Sarkar A, Lehto SM, Harty S, Dinan TG, Cryan JF, Burnet PW (November 2016). "Psychobiotics and the Manipulation of Bacteria-Gut-Brain Signals" . Trends in Neurosciences . 39 (11): 763–81. doi :10.1016/j.tins.2016.09.002 . PMC 5102282 . PMID 27793434 .
^ Del Toro-Barbosa, M.; Hurtado-Romero, A.; Garcia-Amezquita, L. E.; García-Cayuela, T. (2020). "Psychobiotics: Mechanisms of Action, Evaluation Methods and Effectiveness in Applications with Food Products" . Nutrients . 12 (12): 3896. doi :10.3390/nu12123896 . PMC 7767237 . PMID 33352789 .
^ a b Romijn AR, Rucklidge JJ (October 2015). "Systematic review of evidence to support the theory of psychobiotics" . Nutrition Reviews . 73 (10): 675–93. doi :10.1093/nutrit/nuv025 . PMID 26370263 .
^ a b Liu B, He Y, Wang M, Liu J, Ju Y, Zhang Y, Liu T, Li L, Li Q (July 2018). "Efficacy of probiotics on anxiety-A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials" . Depression and Anxiety . 35 (10): 935–45. doi :10.1002/da.22811 . PMID 29995348 . S2CID 51615532 .
^ Hutkins RW, Krumbeck JA, Bindels LB, Cani PD, Fahey G, Goh YJ, Hamaker B, Martens EC, Mills DA, Rastal RA, Vaughan E, Sanders ME (February 2016). "Prebiotics: why definitions matter" . Current Opinion in Biotechnology . 37 : 1–7. doi :10.1016/j.copbio.2015.09.001 . PMC 4744122 . PMID 26431716 .
^ a b Bambury A, Sandhu K, Cryan JF, Dinan TG (December 2018). "Finding the needle in the haystack: systematic identification of psychobiotics" . British Journal of Pharmacology . 175 (24): 4430–38. doi :10.1111/bph.14127 . PMC 6255950 . PMID 29243233 .
^ a b Cohen Kadosh, Kathrin; Basso, Melissa; Knytl, Paul; Johnstone, Nicola; Lau, Jennifer Y. F.; Gibson, Glenn R. (2021-06-16). "Psychobiotic interventions for anxiety in young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis, with youth consultation" . Translational Psychiatry . 11 (1): 352. doi :10.1038/s41398-021-01422-7 . ISSN 2158-3188 . PMC 8206413 . PMID 34131108 .
^ Dinan TG, Stanton C, Cryan JF (November 2013). "Psychobiotics: a novel class of psychotropic". Biological Psychiatry . 74 (10): 720–26. doi :10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.05.001 . PMID 23759244 . S2CID 40059439 .
Further reading
Anderson, Scott C.; Cryan, John F.; Dinan, Ted (17 December 2019). The Psychobiotic Revolution (1 ed.). Random House US. ISBN 9781426219641 .