Psychobiotic Lactobacillus plantarum JYLP-326 relieves anxiety, depression, and insomnia symptoms in test anxious college via modulating the gut microbiota and its metabolism

Front Immunol. 2023 Mar 23:14:1158137. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1158137. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Introduction: Test anxiety is a common issue among college students, which can affect their physical and psychological health. However, effective interventions or therapeutic strategies are still lacking. This study aims to evaluate the potential effects of Lactobacillus plantarum JYLP-326 on test anxious college students.

Methods: Sixty anxious students were enrolled and randomly allocated to the placebo group and the probiotic group. Both groups were instructed to take placebo and JYLP-326 products twice per day for three weeks, respectively. Thirty unanxious students with no treatments were assigned to a regular control group. The anxiety, depression, and insomnia questionnaires were used to measure students' mental states at the baseline and the end of this study. 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were performed to analyze the changes in the gut microbiota and fecal metabolism.

Results: The questionnaire results suggested that JYLP-326 administration could relieve the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia in test anxious students. The gut microbiomes of the placebo group showed a significantly greater diversity index than the control group (p < 0.05). An increased abundance of Bacteroides and Roseburia at the genus level was observed in the placebo group, and the relative abundance of Prevotella and Bifidobacterium decreased. Whereas, JYLP-326 administration could partly restore the disturbed gut microbiota. Additionally, test anxiety was correlated with disordered fecal metabolomics such as a higher Ethyl sulfate and a lower Cyclohexylamine, which could be reversed after taking JYLP-326. Furthermore, the changed microbiota and fecal metabolites were significantly associated with anxiety-related symptoms.

Conclusion: The results indicate that the intervention of L. plantarum JYLP-326 could be an effective strategy to alleviate anxiety, depression, and insomnia in test anxious college students. The potential mechanism underlying this effect could be related to the regulation of gut microbiota and fecal metabolites.

Keywords: depression and insomnia; gut microbiota; lactobacillus plantarum JYLP-326; test anxiety; untargeted metabolomics.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anxiety / diagnosis
  • Anxiety / therapy
  • Depression / diagnosis
  • Depression / therapy
  • Feces / chemistry
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome* / genetics
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome* / physiology
  • Humans
  • Lactobacillus plantarum* / genetics
  • Lactobacillus plantarum* / metabolism
  • Mental Disorders* / microbiology
  • Mental Disorders* / therapy
  • Probiotics* / therapeutic use
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / diagnosis
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / therapy
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Test Anxiety* / psychology
  • Test Anxiety* / therapy

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

This research was funded by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 82060638 to TC; 82260389 to SL), the Double thousand plan of Jiangxi Province (High-End Talents Project of Scientific and Technological Innovation to TC), and Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation (20224BAB206078 to SL; 20212BAB206087 and 20212BCJ23043 to LFW).