Neuronutrition in the perspective of the prevention and treatment of depressive disorder / Neuronutrição na perspectiva da prevenção e tratamento da desordem depressiva

Abstract

The father of medicine was a pioneer in suggesting the healing power of food nutrients, however it took a long time for science to recognize that food has functional properties and the ability to interfere with mood and brain health. Currently, neuroscience is showing research results, demonstrating the effectiveness of nutritional bioactive compounds with neuroprotective potential. Some metabolic changes are the basis of common neuropsychiatric diseases, such as depressive disorder, characterized by mood dysregulation, cognitive dysfunction, sleep disorders, appetite, fatigue and metabolic or inflammatory changes. Objective: to describe the potential of dietary and bioactive nutrients that interfere in the neurobiology of depressive disorder. Methodology: This is a systematic review, stratified in a time window of 2012-2021. As a search criterion for the articles, a guiding question was formulated: how does the relationship between food nutrition and its potential connections in the neurobiology of depression appear? DesCs-MESH indexes were pre-established in the English language: food nutrition, bioactive, neurobiology depressive disorders, in the vernacular: food nutrition, brain, bioactive, depressive disorder, allied to Boolean operators, to the StArt resource, to exclude duplicate manuscripts. Results: This short-review included 31 articles that met the criteria and demonstrated nutritional bioactivity involved in the neurobiological process of depressive disorder. Conclusion: the connection between diet and depression emerges with promising perspectives when demonstrating the potential of nutrients and bioactive with a neuroprotective effect. The clinical approach combined with the diet designed to produce antidepressant effects can work as an adjunct to the treatment and prevention of depressive symptoms.