ProbioStick Fights Anxiety

NANCY, FranceDaily administration of a special probiotic formulation may alleviate stress in healthy adults, according to a new study (Br J Nutr. ePub 26 Oct 2010. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114510004319). The findings build on previous work investigating the anxiolytic effects of ProbioStick®, a probiotic formulation from Institut Rosell-Lallemand consisting of Lactobacillus helveticus Rosell-52 and Bifidobacterium longum Rosell-175.

In the new study, researchers from ETAP-Ethologie Appliquée conducted a pre-clinical behavioral trial in rats as well as a clinical intervention in healthy adults. In the pre-clinical study, rats were administered the probiotic formula daily for two weeks and subsequently tested in the conditioned defensive burying test, a screening model for anti-anxiety agents. After two weeks, ProbioStick showed a significant anxiolytic-like effect, comparable to that of the anxiety drug diazepam, which served as a positive control.

For the clinical trial, a total of 55 healthy volunteers were recruited for the double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized parallel group study. Subjects received a placebo or ProbioStick preparation (equivalent to 3x10(9) CFU/day) for one month. Researchers used several psychological self-assessment tests and 24-hour urinary free cortisol monitoring to determine stress and anxiety. Daily subchronic administration of the probiotic mixture had a beneficial effect on general signs of anxiety and depression, particularly somatisation, depression and anger-hostility; the active intervention also improved subjects ability to cope with everyday stressors. Further, the results of the self-assessment tests were correlated with a decrease of urinary free cortisol levels, a biomarker for stress and anxiety.

A statement from Institut Rosell regarding the study included a quote from the authors, who stated: Consumption of ProbioStick mitigated psychological distress in three tests without displaying any adverse event. These results provide further evidence that gut microflora plays a role in stress, anxiety and depression, perhaps via the enteric nervous system as well as centrally. Subject to the confirmation of these results, probiotics might offer a useful novel therapeutic approach to neuropathologic disorders and/or as adjunct therapies in psychiatric disorders."

The results of this study were first presented Oct. 28, 2010, at the 2^nd World Congress on Immunity Ingredients in Malta, which was organized by the International Society of Antioxidant in Nutrition and Health (ISANH).