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Probiotics and the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: Focus on Psychiatry
Sabrina Mörkl1,2, Mary I Butler3,4, Anna Holl3
1APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. sabrina.moerkl@medunigraz.at.
Purpose Of Review:
Probiotics are living bacteria, which when ingested in adequate amounts, confer health benefits. Gut microbes are suggested to play a role in many psychiatric disorders and could be a potential therapeutic target. Between the gut and the brain, there is a bi-directional communication pathway called the microbiota-gut-brain axis. The purpose of this review is to examine data from recent interventional studies focusing on probiotics and the gut-brain axis for the treatment of depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.
Recent Findings:
Probiotics are likely to improve depression but not schizophrenia. Regarding anxiety, there is only one trial which showed an effect of a multispecies probiotic. However, determinants like the duration of treatment, dosage and interactions have not been thoroughly investigated and deserve more scientific attention. Microbiome-based therapies such as probiotics could be cautiously recommended for depression to enhance beneficial bacteria in the gut and to improve mood through the gut-brain axis.
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