Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32009871›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in neuroscience2019

Antidepressive Mechanisms of Probiotics and Their Therapeutic Potential.

Shin Jie Yong, Tommy Tong, Jactty Chew, Wei Ling Lim

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06905223 (A Pilot Study on the Efficacy of a Synbiotic Formula), which is not on this map. Cited by 99 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
99citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
7.2field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06905223 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

A Pilot Study on the Efficacy of a Synbiotic Formula (MQU10) in Improving Mood and Well-being in Adults With Mild to Moderate Depressive Symptoms

TypeinterventionalSponsorGenieBiome LimitedRan2025 to 2027Enrolled30ConditionsDepressive Symptoms Mild to Moderate in SeverityArmsMQU10
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

99 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 201 citations in OpenAlex.

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  19. Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Probiotic Strains.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
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39 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Shin Jie YongDepartment of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
Tommy TongDepartment of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
Jactty ChewDepartment of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
Wei Ling LimDepartment of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
Sunway University · MY

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The accumulating knowledge of the host-microbiota interplay gives rise to the microbiota-gut-brain (MGB) axis. The MGB axis depicts the interkingdom communication between the gut microbiota and the brain. This communication process involves the endocrine, immune and neurotransmitters systems. Dysfunction of these systems, along with the presence of gut dysbiosis, have been detected among clinically depressed patients. This implicates the involvement of a maladaptive MGB axis in the pathophysiology of depression. Depression refers to symptoms that characterize major depressive disorder (MDD), a mood disorder with a disease burden that rivals that of heart diseases. The use of probiotics to treat depression has gained attention in recent years, as evidenced by increasing numbers of animal and human studies that have supported the antidepressive efficacy of probiotics. Physiological changes observed in these studies allow for the elucidation of probiotics antidepressive mechanisms, which ultimately aim to restore proper functioning of the MGB axis. However, the understanding of mechanisms does not yet complete the endeavor in applying probiotics to treat MDD. Other challenges remain which include the heterogeneous nature of both the gut microbiota composition and depressive symptoms in the clinical setting. Nevertheless, probiotics offer some advantages over standard pharmaceutical antidepressants, in terms of residual symptoms, side effects and stigma involved. This review outlines antidepressive mechanisms of probiotics based on the currently available literature and discusses therapeutic potentials of probiotics for depression.

Indexed as

gut microbiotainflammationmajor depressive disordermicrobiota-gut-brain axisprobiotics

Identifiers

PMID32009871
PMCPMC6971226
OpenAlexW2999785229

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.