Relationship Between Gut Microbiota and Depression and Possible Treatment

Abstract

As an increasingly prevalent mental disorder around the globe, depression influences more than 300 million people and attract attention of researchers to find out a clear and reliable mechanism. One of the largest influencers in the human body, gastrointestinal microbiota has raised the attention of researchers and serve as a clue to explain the onset of depression. The evidence from previous studies is summarized to support that the difference of gut microbiota does correlate significantly with the development of depression. Supported by the result of a variety of studies including animal study and human prospective studies, microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA) and more specific mechanisms such as the function of multiple microbial components are explained. Other factors that influence the abundance of gut microbiota such as fiber and nutrients are considered. Hence, possible dietary patterns with high fiber consumption, low fat, sufficient polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), tryptophan, glutamic acid, are suggested as possible treatment or prevention of depression.