The Effects of Synbiotics Administration on Stress-Related Parameters in Thai Subjects—A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Urbanization influences our lifestyle, especially in fast-paced environments where we are more prone to stress. Stress management is considered advantageous in terms of longevity. The use of probiotics for psychological treatment has a small amount of diverse proven evidence to support this. However, studies on stress management in stressed subjects using synbiotics are still limited. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of synbiotics on stress in the Thai population. A total of 32 volunteers were enrolled and screened using a Thai Stress Test (TST) to determine their stress status. Participants were divided into the stressed and the non-stressed groups. Synbiotics preparation comprised a mixture of probiotics strains in a total concentration of 1 × 1010 CFU/day (5.0 × 109 CFU of Lactobacillus paracasei HII01 and 5.0 × 109 CFU of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis) and 10 g prebiotics (5 g galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and 5 g oligofructose (FOS)). All parameters were measured at baseline and after the 12th week of the study. In the stressed group, the administration of synbiotics significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the negative scale scores of TST, and tryptophan. In the non-stressed group, the synbiotics administration decreased tryptophan significantly (p < 0.05), whereas dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), acetate and propionate were increased significantly (p < 0.05). In both groups, cortisol, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were reduced, whereas anti-inflammatory mediator interleukin-10 (IL-10) and immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels were increased. In conclusion, synbiotics administration attenuated the negative feelings via the negative scale scores of TST in stressed participants by modulating the HPA-axis, IL-10, IgA, and LPS. In comparison, synbiotics administration for participants without stress did not benefit stress status but showed remodeling SCFAs components, HPA-axis, and tryptophan catabolism.

Effects of the Probiotic, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, as a Substitute for Antibiotics on the Gastrointestinal Tract Microbiota and Metabolomics Profile of Female Growing-Finishing Pigs

“…The Latilactobacillus curvatus KP 3–4 increases putrescine concentration in the feces of germ-free mice [ 69 ]. Probiotics substantially increase the concentration of 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid [ 70 ]. Consistent with Choi et al, the probiotic group contained higher hypoxanthine and lower lithocholic acid contents [ 71 ].…”

A Narrative Review on Gut Microbiome Disturbances and Microbial Preparations in ME/CFS: Implications for Long COVID

“…Similar benefits were reported in management of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and anxiety-like symptoms with multi-strain preparations including L. heleveticus Rosell-52 and B. longum Rosell-175 [103]; Bifidobacterium longom, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus [104]; as well as multi-strain consortium of L. acidophilus LA5 and B. lactis BB12 [105], which significantly reduced the intensity of anxiety symptoms and improved overall mental health outcomes. Additional benefits attributed to psychobiotics formulation consisting of Lactobacillus fermentum LF16, L. rhamnosus LR06, L. plantarum LP01, and Bifidobacterium longum BL04; Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium bifidum; Lactobacillus helveticus R0052, Bifidobacterium longum R0175, as well as Lactobacillus plantarum 299v have been shown to significantly improve mood, by reducing depressive and anger feelings [106,107], as well as reduce the response to stress on HPA axis [108] observed as reduced salivary cortisol levels [110] all together leading to improved sleep. In particularly, supplementation of Lactobacillus paracasei HII01 in fatigued participants after 12 weeks have been shown to significantly reduce salivary cortisol level compared to baseline [110], what may suggest potential benefits also for fatigue reduction among the patients with post-viral syndromes.…”

The impact of acute and chronic stress on gastrointestinal physiology and function: a microbiota–gut–brain axis perspective

“…It is well established that chronic stress is associated with altered gut microbiota composition in humans (Almand et al., 2022; Knowles et al., 2008) and in preclinical models of chronic stress exposure (Cruz‐Pereira et al., 2020; Foster et al., 2017). Emerging evidence from studies in healthy volunteers indicates that microbiota modification by probiotics (Ma et al., 2021; Moloney et al., 2021; Wauters et al., 2022), synbiotics (Lalitsuradej et al., 2022) and targeted dietary interventions (prebiotic or fermented food supplementation) (Berding et al., 2023) improves subjective measures of chronic stress. Additionally, the gut microbiome has been implicated in major depressive disorder (Bastiaanssen et al., 2020; McGuinness et al., 2022; Nikolova et al., 2021), which develops in susceptible individuals following chronic stress exposure.…”