Anxiolytic effects of a galacto-oligosaccharides prebiotic in healthy females (18\u201325\xa0years) with corresponding changes in gut bacterial composition

Nicola Johnstone,Kathryn Hart,Philip W J Burnet,Chiara Milesi,Bartholomeus Van Den Bogert,Paul Sowden,Arjen Nauta,Kathrin Cohen Kadosh,Olivia Burn

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-87865-w

Abstract

Current research implicates pre- and probiotic supplementation as a potential tool for improving symptomology in physical and mental ailments, which makes it an attractive concept for clinicians and consumers alike. Here we focus on the transitional period of late adolescence and early adulthood during which effective interventions, such as nutritional supplementation to influence the gut microbiota, have the potential to offset health-related costs in later life. We examined multiple indices of mood and well-being in 64 healthy females in a 4-week double blind, placebo controlled galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) prebiotic supplement intervention and obtained stool samples at baseline and follow-up for gut microbiota sequencing and analyses. We report effects of the GOS intervention on self-reported high trait anxiety, attentional bias, and bacterial abundance, suggesting that dietary supplementation with a GOS prebiotic may improve indices of pre-clinical anxiety. Gut microbiota research has captured the imagination of the scientific and lay community alike, yet we are now at a stage where this early enthusiasm will need to be met with rigorous research in humans. Our work makes an important contribution to this effort by combining a psychobiotic intervention in a human sample with comprehensive behavioural and gut microbiota measures.

Highlights

The gut microbiota has emerged as an important player in our efforts to understand the factors that influence brain function and b ehaviour[1,2,3,4]
We used a different approach with prebiotics to support the beneficial bacteria that are already present in the participants’ gut, such as Bifidobacterium, which have been linked to emotional well-being[29,30]
Gut microbiota composition was characterised by increased Bifidobacterium abundances at follow-up in the GOS group, with trends towards differential diversity after intervention

Summary

Introduction

The gut microbiota has emerged as an important player in our efforts to understand the factors that influence brain function and b ehaviour[1,2,3,4]. This supposition highlights the importance of understanding how changes in the gut microbiota relate to brain function and plasticity during this critical developmental p eriod[18,19]. Probiotic strains, including members of the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, are enriched in some dairy/fermented products, whereas prebiotics are nondigestible substances that feed the gut m icrobiota[22,28] such as fructans and oligosaccharides found in cereals, fruits and v egetables[26]. Both pro- and prebiotics are commercially available and are applied in food products and supplements. We used a different approach with prebiotics to support the beneficial bacteria that are already present in the participants’ gut, such as Bifidobacterium, which have been linked to emotional well-being[29,30]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion