Probiotics may help reduce symptoms of depression, says study

The studies needed to include human participants of the age 18, and clinically recognise anxiety and depression. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)

The importance of probiotics has been emphasised by several health experts but a new study has linked it to reducing depression. According to a research paper published in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health, the effect of probiotics, either alone or in combination with prebiotics, may help in reducing a person’s depression symptoms.

The studies needed to include human participants of the age 18, and clinically recognise anxiety and depression, considering their dietary prebiotic and probiotic intervention. “Our results affirm that pre and probiotic therapy warrants further investigation. Efforts should aim to elucidate whether the perceived efficacy of pre/probiotic therapy in depression and or anxiety disorders can be replicated in larger test populations and whether such effects are maintained through continued treatment, or post-cessation. Interventions should also be investigated in isolation, not combination, to ascertain where the observed effects are attributable to. Efforts to produce mechanistic explanations for such effect should be a priority,” the study read.

The review of the study ascertained that individuals living with a clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder and depression can have a quantitatively measured reduction in the negative experience of their CMD by consuming a diet inclusive of prebiotics and/or probiotics, alongside any other treatment indicated in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

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It also explained that the gut-brain axis describes the relationship between a person’s gut microbiome or the ecosystem of micro-organisms that live in a person’s gut and their central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord.

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