“Gut–brain axis”: Review of the role of the probiotics in anxiety and depressive disorders

Abstract

Abstract Background Depressive disorders are the leading cause of disability worldwide and together with anxiety contribute to a very high burden of disease. Therefore, improving their treatment is a significant medical research target: The role of probiotics is a topic of great interest for the current research in this field. Objectives To explore the current literature about the impact of probiotics on anxious and depressive symptoms. Methods Scoping review following the PRISMA guidelines. Results The selection process yielded 23 studies. Probiotics positively affected depressive symptomatology and anxiety symptoms according to 53.83% and 43.75% of the selected studies, respectively. Among the studies assessing inflammatory biomarkers, 58.31% found they were decreased after administration of probiotics. Conclusion The results emerging from the existing literature about probiotic supplementation for depression treatment are encouraging, but further research is needed considering the shortage of clinical trials on this topic and the heterogeneity of the samples analyzed.

Keywords

• anxiety
• depression
• gut–brain axis
• inflammation
• probiotics