Examining the Efficacy of Probiotics as an Alternative Therapeutic Approach for Anxiety and Depression Symptoms: A Scoping Review

In recent years, the gut-brain-axis has become an increasingly researched topic due to its role in health, stress reactivity, and the pathomorphosis of mood disorders. Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when ingested in adequate amounts, can pose a health benefit to the host through their improvement of beneficial gut-microbiota. The objective of this review is to conduct a comprehensive scoping review investigating the potential of probiotic interventions to modulate gut microbiota composition and their associated effects on anxiety and depression symptomology. Various probiotic strains were examined and analyzed comparing pathological versus healthy participants and the impact of natural interventions on validated psychological measures. The findings of this review underscore the promising role of probiotics in their ability to modulate brain function patterns, reduce stress reactivity, and improve emotional and cognitive processes through the enhancement of gut microbiota. The findings suggest that probiotic intervention for mental health disorders could become a valuable component of personalized, non-invasive treatment strategies, offering a safer alternative to traditional pharmacological approaches.