Abstract
The human gut microbiome is closely linked to mental health and sleep. We aimed to verify the efficacy and safety of probiotic NVP-1704, a mixture of Lactobacillus reuteri NK33 and Bifidobacterium adolescentis NK98, in improving stress, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances, along with the measurement of some blood biomarkers. A total of 156 healthy adults with subclinical symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia were retrospectively registered and randomly assigned to receive either NVP-1704 (n = 78) or a placebo (n = 78) for eight weeks. Participants completed the Stress Response Inventory, Beck’s Depression and Anxiety Inventory, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, and Insomnia Severity Index at baseline, at four and eight weeks of treatment. Pre- and post-treatment blood tests for biomarkers were conducted. After intervention, gut microbiota composition was quantified by pyrosequencing the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. The NVP-1704 group had a more significant reduction in depressive symptoms at four and eight weeks of treatment, and anxiety symptoms at four weeks compared to the placebo group. Those receiving NVP-1704 also experienced an improvement in sleep quality. NVP-1704 treatment led to a decrease in serum interleukin-6 levels. Furthermore, NVP-1704 increased Bifidobacteriaceae and Lactobacillacea, whereas it decreased Enterobacteriaceae in the gut microbiota composition. Our findings suggest that probiotic NVP-1704 could be beneficial for mental health and sleep.
Highlights
The gut microbiota consists of a community of microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi in the gastrointestinal tract, and is defined as the totality of these microbes and their genomic components [1]
The present study revealed that NVP-1704 is a safe and well-tolerated probiotic with beneficial effects on depression and sleep in healthy adults
Our findings are similar to the results reported in a previous mouse study, which concluded that treatment with NVP-1704 led to the alleviation of depression/anxiety, changes in serum interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels, and an altered gut microbiome [17]
Summary
The gut microbiota consists of a community of microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi in the gastrointestinal tract, and is defined as the totality of these microbes and their genomic components [1]. A substantial body of work indicates that the human gut microbiome is implicated in mental health via bidirectional interactions within the brain–gut–microbiome (BGM) axis, which involves the immune, neural, endocrine, and metabolic pathways between the gut and the brain [2,3,4]. The perturbation of this axis leads to altered stress response and behaviors, and has been proposed to be involved in several psychiatric disorders, including depression [5], anxiety [6], and insomnia [7]. The oral intake of probiotics, a preparation of live beneficial microorganisms [11], may have therapeutic effects on psychiatric symptoms by promoting a healthy and balanced gut microbiome
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