ArticleWorld journal of psychiatry2025
Potential clinical benefits of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics for depression
Article in World journal of psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Short-chain fatty acid-producing psychobiotics in mood disorders: mechanistic insights into the microbiota-gut-brain axis.Clinical nutrition research · 2026Article
- Butyrate Is Associated with the Antidepressant Effects ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Emerging Roles of Postbiotics in Gut-Brain-Microbiome Axis Modulation and Neurobiological Pathways of Chronic Stress-Related Brain Dysfunction.Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Review
- Integrative metabolomics and machine learning identify biomarkers of adolescent social anxiety disorder.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2026Article
- The role of probiotics in modulation of the gut-brain axis: a prospective therapy for depression and mood disorders.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDepression is a common mental-health disorder worldwide. Several studies have demonstrated the effects of gut microbiota-targeting interventions, such as probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics (PPSP), on depression.
aimTo assess the potential benefits of PPSP on patients diagnosed with depressive disorder.
methodsA literature search of the PubMed, Web of Science, and Elsevier Science Direct databases for relevant studies published from database inception to March 2024 was performed. Studies that used a randomized controlled trial design and evaluated differences in depression between PPSP and placebo were included. Depressive symptoms were assessed using a validated scale. Analysis was performed using Review Manager version 5.4 (The Cochrane Collaboration, 2020).
resultsFourteen studies comprising 906 patients with depressive symptoms were included. PPSP improved depression compared with placebo [SMD: -0.39 (95%CI: -0.60 to -0.17);
conclusionPPSP effectively alleviates depressive symptoms, and subgroup analysis supports the benefits of probiotics and synbiotics. Nevertheless, evidence supporting the use of PPSP for the treatment of depression remains insufficient.
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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.