ArticleScientific reports2020
Intravenous administration of sodium propionate induces antidepressant or prodepressant effect in a dose dependent manner.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Circulating Short-Chain Fatty Acid (SCFA) profiles as a biomarker of gut-brain axis dysfunction: A meta-analysis for the SCFA signature in major depression.Biomedical journal · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review of gut microbiota composition in observational studies of major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Review
- Crosstalk Between Gut Microbiota, Epigenome, and Neurotransmitters in Health and Disease.Cells · 2026Review
- Exploratory Analysis of Gut Microbiota Profile in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) Patients with Intellectual Disability.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Review
- Maternal oral sodium propionate supplementation restores gut integrity and mitigates stress-induced metabolic and behavioral outcomes in offspring.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Therapeutic Horizons: Gut Microbiome, Neuroinflammation, and Epigenetics in Neuropsychiatric Disorders.Cells · 2025Review
- The endocannabinoidome-gut microbiome-brain axis as a novel therapeutic target for autism spectrum disorder.Journal of biomedical science · 2025Review
- Examination of Anti-Inflammatory Effects After Propionate Supplementation in the R6/2 Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Review
- Metabolomics to Identify Unclassified Uremic Toxins: A Comprehensive Literature Review.Kidney medicine · 2025Review
- Using metabolomics to investigate the relationship between the metabolomic profile of the intestinal microbiota derivatives and mental disorders in inflammatory bowel diseases: a narrative review.Research in pharmaceutical sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- Dietary Factors Impact Developmental Trajectories in Young Autistic Children.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2024Article
- Gastrointestinal Microbiota & Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Anorexia Nervosa-A Re-Analysis of the MICROBIAN Longitudinal Study.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Review
- Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis as a Potential Risk Factor for Idiopathic Toe-Walking in Children: A Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Gastrointestinal Symptoms Impact Psychosocial Function and Quality of Life in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- The Association of the Oral Microbiota with the Effects of Acid Stress Induced by an Increase of Brain Lactate in Schizophrenia Patients.Biomedicines · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Propionate has been reported to exert antidepressant effects, but high-dose propionate may induce autism-like symptoms in experimental animals through induction of dysbiosis of neurotransmitters. The bi-directional effects of propionate seem to be dose-dependent. However, due to the pathological discrepancies between depression and autism, conclusions drawn from autism may not be simply transferable to depression. The effect and underlying action mechanisms of high-dose propionate on depression remains undetermined. To investigate the effects of propionate on depression, propionate dose gradients were intravenously administrated to rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) for 1 week. Results of these behavioral tests demonstrate that low-dose propionate (2 mg/kg body weight/day) induces antidepressant effect through bodyweight recovery, elevated reward-seeking behaviors, and reduced depression-like behaviors, while high-dose propionate (200 mg/kg body weight/day) induces prodepressant effects opposite of those of low-dose propionate. A comprehensive profiling of neurotransmitters in the hippocampus demonstrated that CUMS induces reduction of NE (Norepinephrine), DA (Dopamine). GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) was recovered by low-dose propionate, while high-dose propionate exerted more complicated effects on neurotransmitters, including reduction of NE, DA, 5-Hydroxytryptamine and Tryptophan, and increase of GABA, Kynurenine, Homovanillic acid, 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, 3-hydroxykynurenine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and 3-methoxytyramine. The neurotransmitters disturbed by high-dose propionate suggest metabolic disorders in the hippocampus, which were confirmed by the clear group separation in PCA of metabolomic profiling. The results of this study demonstrate the double-edged dose-dependent effects of propionate on depression and suggest potential cumulative toxicity of propionate as a food additive to mood disorders.
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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.