Phytotherapy of mood disorders in the light of microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Phytomedicine

Microbiota Lab, Department of Pharmacognosy and Molecular Basis of Phytotherapy, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address:

Published: March 2023


Category Ranking

98%

Total Visits

921

Avg Visit Duration

2 minutes

Citations

20

Article Abstract

Background: Clinical research in natural product-based psychopharmacology has revealed a variety of promising herbal medicines that may provide benefit in the treatment of mild mood disorders, however failed to unambiguously indicate pharmacologically active constituents. The emerging role of the microbiota-gut-brain axis opens new possibilities in the search for effective methods of treatment and prevention of mood disorders.

Purpose: Considering the clinically proven effectiveness juxtaposed with inconsistencies regarding the indication of active principles for many medicinal plants applied in the treatment of anxiety and depression, the aim of the review is to look at their therapeutic properties from the perspective of the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Method: A literature-based survey was performed using Scopus, Pubmed, and Google Scholar databases. The current state of knowledge regarding Hypericum perforatum, Valeriana officinalis, Piper methysticum, Passiflora incarnata, Humulus lupulus, Melissa officinalis, Lavandula officinalis, and Rhodiola rosea in terms of their antimicrobial activity, bioavailability, clinical effectiveness in depression/anxiety and gut microbiota - natural products interaction was summarized and analyzed.

Results: Recent studies have provided direct and indirect evidence that herbal extracts and isolated compounds are potent modulators of gut microbiota structure. Additionally, some of the formed postbiotic metabolites exert positive effects and ameliorate depression-related behaviors in animal models of mood disorders. The review underlines the gap in research on natural products - gut microbiota interaction in the context of mood disorders.

Conclusion: Modification of microbiota-gut-brain axis by natural products is a plausible explanation of their therapeutic properties. Future studies evaluating the effectiveness of herbal medicine and isolated compounds in treating mild mood disorders should consider the bidirectional interplay between phytoconstituents and the gut microbiota community.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2023.154642DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mood disorders
16
gut microbiota
16
microbiota-gut-brain axis
12
natural products
12
mild mood
8
therapeutic properties
8
isolated compounds
8
mood
5
phytotherapy mood
4
disorders
4

Similar Publications

Rationale: There are insufficient data to inform the management of central sleep apnea (CSA) in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Nocturnal oxygen therapy (NOT) has been postulated to benefit CSA patients with HFrEF, but has not been rigorously studied. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A multicenter study on the mental health of Brazilian adolescent mothers, 2024.

Epidemiol Serv Saude

September 2025

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

Objective: To analyze the mental health of Brazilian adolescent mothers who use the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS).

Methods: This is a multicenter study conducted with 583 adolescent mothers (10-19 years old). The participants responded to a questionnaire on sociodemographic variables, mental health and family support.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Transformations in plasma metabolic profiles of patients with major depression disorder during treatment.

Metab Brain Dis

September 2025

Department of Pharmacy, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1277, Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei, 430022, China.

Major depression disorder (MDD) is a mental condition that significantly threatens both physical and psychological health. This study aimed to discern variances in plasma metabolic profiles between MDD sufferers and healthy counterparts. Additionally, we tracked the hospitalization journey of MDD patients to investigate the normalization of metabolic irregularities through conventional treatment in the form of self-control.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a complex mood disorder among the leading causes of disability worldwide. Internalized stigma refers to the awareness of negative stereotypes adopted by society and the agreement with these judgments, often associated with impaired functionality and social adaptation. Studies examining internalized stigma and related factors in BD are limited.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Neuroimaging Data Informed Mood and Psychosis Diagnosis Using an Ensemble Deep Multimodal Framework.

Hum Brain Mapp

September 2025

Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Investigating neuroimaging data to identify brain-based markers of mental illnesses has gained significant attention. Nevertheless, these endeavors encounter challenges arising from a reliance on symptoms and self-report assessments in making an initial diagnosis. The absence of biological data to delineate nosological categories hinders the provision of additional neurobiological insights into these disorders.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF