ReviewFrontiers in psychology2015
Neurotransmitters as food supplements: the effects of GABA on brain and behavior.
Review in Frontiers in psychology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05808101 (Role of the Gut Microbiome as Determinant of Depression in Multiple Sclerosis Subjects), which is not on this map. Cited by 142 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Role of the Gut Microbiome as Determinant of Depression in Multiple Sclerosis Subjects
Who cites it
142 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 332 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Oral Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Administration on Stress and Sleep in Humans: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2020Pooled it
- Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Lp815 improves sleep and increases urinary GABA in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of sleep disturbance.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Isolation and Characterization ofJournal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Gamma-aminobutyric acid supplementation combined with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog therapy versus gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog therapy alone for linear growth in children with growth retardation: a retrospective cohort study.Translational pediatrics · 2026Article
- Repeated oral administration of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) does not cause reproductive or developmental toxicity in rats.Toxicology reports · 2026Article
- Sprouted Oats as Functional Ingredients: Biochemical Transformations, Nutritional Enhancement, and Health Implications.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- GABA-Producing Capabilities ofJournal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Dietary patterns influence the in silico GABA production capacity of Bifidobacterium adolescentis HD17T2H and other human gut bacteria.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Restoring Firmicutes-Associated Metabolites: A Gut-Brain Axis Approach to Alleviate Neuroinflammation and Oxidative Stress in Intracerebral Hemorrhage.Current microbiology · 2026Article
- The crosstalk between blood-brain barrier and neural cells: bidirectional regulation of brain function and pathology.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Review
- Neuropeptide SP protects against colitis and linked anxiety-like behavior through the putative roles of gut microbiota and metabolite inositol.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Lacto-fermented vegetables as dynamic food ecosystems: emerging mechanisms along the microbiome-gut-brain axis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- The bridging role of gut microbiota-derived metabolites in neuropathic pain comorbid with anxiety.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Advances in GABA-Enriched Yogurt and Frozen Yogurt: Microbial Biosynthesis, Functional Properties, and Health Perspectives-A Comprehensive Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Enhancing tomato quality, high sugar content and GABA accumulation, with mutations in ESKs and GAD3 genes.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Instant Cascara Beverage as a Neuroimmune Modulator of the Brain-Gut Axis: Sex-Dependent Effects in Healthy Rats.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Microbiome-derived metabolites in substance use disorders: Mechanisms and implications.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Review
- Efficacy of a NovelAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Neurosteroids, Microbiota, and Neuroinflammation: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Tea and Its Active Ingredients in Preventing and Alleviating Depression: A Comprehensive Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
82 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human cortex. The food supplement version of GABA is widely available online. Although many consumers claim that they experience benefits from the use of these products, it is unclear whether these supplements confer benefits beyond a placebo effect. Currently, the mechanism of action behind these products is unknown. It has long been thought that GABA is unable to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), but the studies that have assessed this issue are often contradictory and range widely in their employed methods. Accordingly, future research needs to establish the effects of oral GABA administration on GABA levels in the human brain, for example using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. There is some evidence in favor of a calming effect of GABA food supplements, but most of this evidence was reported by researchers with a potential conflict of interest. We suggest that any veridical effects of GABA food supplements on brain and cognition might be exerted through BBB passage or, more indirectly, via an effect on the enteric nervous system. We conclude that the mechanism of action of GABA food supplements is far from clear, and that further work is needed to establish the behavioral effects of GABA.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.