Possible Effects and Mechanisms of Dietary Natural Products and Nutrients on Depression and Anxiety: A Narrative Review
Si-Xia Wu,
Jiahui Li,
Dan-Dan Zhou,
Ruo-Gu Xiong,
Si-Yu Huang,
Adila Saimaiti,
Ao Shang,
Hua-Bin Li
Affiliations
Si-Xia Wu
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Jiahui Li
School of Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong 999077, China
Dan-Dan Zhou
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Ruo-Gu Xiong
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Si-Yu Huang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Adila Saimaiti
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Ao Shang
School of Chinese Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Hua-Bin Li
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Depression and anxiety are severe public health problems and have attracted more and more attention from researchers of food science and nutrition. Dietary natural products and nutrients, such as fish, coffee, tea, n-3 PUFA, lycopene, and dietary fiber, could play a vital role in the prevention and management of these diseases. The potential mechanisms of action mainly include inhibiting inflammation, ameliorating oxidative stress, modulating the microbiota–gut–brain axis, suppressing hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis hyperactivity, and regulating the levels of monoamine neurotransmitters. In this narrative review, we summarize the most recent advancements regarding the effects of dietary natural products and nutrients on depression and anxiety, and their underlying mechanisms are discussed. We hope that this paper can provide a better understanding of the anti-depressive and anxiolytic action of dietary natural products, and that it is also helpful for developing dietary natural products for functional food, dietary supplements, or auxiliary agents for the prevention and management of these diseases.
