Probiotics As a Promising Strategy for Teatment of Mental Diseases

Abstract

Mental diseases are a category of illnesses that impact an individual's thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and behavior. This issue has persisted throughout history and gained prominence in the present era. Through the microbiota–gut–brain axis, it has been shown that a number of gut microbiota, particularly Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, have an impact on mental health. Furthermore, mental illnesses like anxiety and depression may be linked to dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Despite their inherent drawbacks, a variety of approaches, including therapy and medication, are available to treat such disorders. While medicine might have undesirable side effects like mood swings, disturbed sleep, indigestion, and more, therapy can be challenging to administer and take a long time to start working. Consequently, finding an alternative drug was necessary as a substitute in the mental health treatment. Probiotics have recently drawn attention as a potentially effective treatment for mental illnesses in many studies. The probiotics can influence brain function through a range of processes such as the endocrine, neurological, and immunological pathways. Therefore, the current narrative review highlights the potential role of probiotics and their related products for treating common mental illnesses.