Effects of a Psychobiotic Supplement on Serum Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels in Depressive Patients: A <i>Post Hoc</i> Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial
N. Heidarzadeh Rad, Hülya Gökmen-Özel, Asma Kazemi, Negin Almasi, Kurosh Djafarian
Abstract
Psychobiotics are probiotics or prebiotics that, upon ingestion in adequate amounts, yield positive influence on mental health via microbiota-gut-brain axis regulation to modulate the circulating cytokines, chemokines, neurotransmitters, or neurotrophins levels. We have recently shown that a psychobiotic combination (Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175; CEREBIOME) significantly improved depression symptoms in patients with depression. Recent animal data suggest the influence of the gut microbiota on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which was shown to correlate with antidepressant response in depressive patients. Therefore, we conducted this exploratory post hoc analysis of BDNF levels to clarify the mechanism of action of this psychobiotic in our cohort.