The Role of Gut Microbiota in Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mental Disorders as Well as the Protective Effects of Dietary Components

The number of individuals experiencing mental disorders (e.g., anxiety and depression) has significantly risen in recent years. Therefore, it is essential to seek prevention and treatment strategies for mental disorders. Several gut microbiota, especially Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, are demonstrated to affect mental health through microbiota-gut-brain axis, and the gut microbiota dysbiosis can be related to mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders. On the other hand, dietary components, including probiotics (e.g., Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium), prebiotics (e.g., dietary fiber and alpha-lactalbumin), synbiotics, postbiotics (e.g., short-chain fatty acids), dairy products, spices (e.g., Zanthoxylum bungeanum, curcumin, and capsaicin), fruits, vegetables, medicinal herbs, and so on, could exert protective effects against mental disorders by enhancing beneficial gut microbiota while suppressing harmful ones. In this paper, the mental disorder-associated gut microbiota are summarized. In addition, the protective effects of dietary components on mental health through targeting the gut microbiota are discussed. This paper can be helpful to develop some dietary natural products into pharmaceuticals and functional foods to prevent and treat mental disorders.

Automated summary

The number of individuals with mental disorders has significantly increased in recent years, highlighting the importance of seeking prevention and treatment strategies. The gut microbiota, particularly Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, have been shown to impact mental health through the microbiota-gut-brain axis, and dysbiosis of gut microbiota is related to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Dietary components, including probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and various food items, have protective effects against mental disorders by modulating gut microbiota. This paper summarizes the gut microbiota associated with mental disorders and discusses the potential of dietary components in preventing and treating mental disorders.