Probiotics and mental health: Exploring the gut-brain connection

Review Article

Abstract

Probiotics are termed as the living microbes that are beneficial to health if consumed in proper quantity. These are known as "friendly" or "good" bacteria, these microbes are essential to maintaining a balanced and healthy gut microbiota. Gut microbiota is closely linked to mental state as many mental illnesses are linked with disturbances in the gut microbiome. Probiotics that are beneficial in maintaining the mental health as well are termed as Psychobiotics. Probiotics appear to be an ideal therapeutic for gut health and have been explored to enhance mental health in past recent research studies. Disruptions in the delicate balance of the gut microbiota not only affect gut health but are also associated with various mental health disorders. This column represents a review study of the benefits of probiotics on mental health, where the potential of probiotics is used as adjunctive or preventive measures for mental health challenges.