ReviewCureus2023
Gut Biome and Mental Health: Do Probiotics Work?
Review in Cureus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Personalization and Fortification of In-Space Manufactured Emulsified Beverages for Long-Term Space Travel.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2026Review
- GABA-Producing Bacteria as Potential Psychobiotics in Gut-Brain Axis Regulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Pathophysiology of depression and anxiety in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.World journal of gastrointestinal pathophysiology · 2025Review
- Gut Microbiota in Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders: Current Insights and Therapeutic Implications.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Probiotics as a Treatment of Chronic Stress Associated Abnormalities.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Review
- Gut Microbiome Interventions: From Dysbiosis to Next-Generation Probiotics (NGPs) for Disease Management.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Review
- Targeting probiotic modulation of gut microbiota for postoperative depression management in patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2025Article
- The Gut-Brain Axis and Mental Health: How Diet Shapes Our Cognitive and Emotional Well-Being.Cureus · 2025Review
- Probiotics and prebiotics in the treatment of functional constipation in the elderly individuals.World journal of gastrointestinal pharmacology and therapeutics · 2025Review
- Review
- "An exploratory randomized, double-blind, placebo- controlled trial protocol on combined Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and adjunctFrontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- The microbiota-gut-brain axis in depression: unraveling the relationships and therapeutic opportunities.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Next-generation probiotics and engineered BEVs for precision therapeutics in osteoporosis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Nutritional psychology and inflammatory bowel disease: a narrative review of gut-brain axis interactions.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Progress in Probiotic Science: Prospects of Functional Probiotic-Based Foods and Beverages.International journal of food science · 2025Review
- Patient Perceptions of Microbiome-Based Therapies as Novel Treatments for Mood Disorders: A Mixed Methods Study: Perceptions des patients sur les thérapies basées sur le microbiome pour les troubles de l'humeur : une étude à méthodes mixtes.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2024Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mental health conditions have been linked closely to an imbalance of microbiota in the gut, leading to disruption of the microbiome (dysbiosis). Several neurotransmitters, such as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), serotonin, and glutamate, are produced in the gut, which are associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Mental health and the gut have been linked closely, and many mental illnesses have been associated with gut dysbiosis. Probiotics are marketed to improve gut health, act as mood enhancers, and be effective in reducing stress as unregulated over-the-counter supplements. Given healthcare disparities and patient-doctor gaps across the globe, this review aims to appraise the literature on probiotics for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched till March 2023 using the MeSH words "prebiotics," "probiotics," "synbiotics," and "psychobiotics." Out of 207 studies, 26 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Studies suggest probiotics could be an effective and economical adjunct therapy; however, due to weak study design and low power, the results are inconclusive. Their use is not without risks, and healthcare providers need close supervision until more robust longitudinal studies are conducted to appraise their efficacy and safety profiles.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.