Probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum P8 alleviated stress and anxiety while enhancing memory and cognition in stressed adults: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
- 2019-10
- Clinical Nutrition 38(5)
- L. Lew
- Y. Hor
- N. A. A. Yusoff
- S. Choi
- M. Yusoff
- N. S. Roslan
- Anisa Ahmad
- J. A. Mohammad
- M. F. I. L. Abdullah
- Norzila Zakaria
- N. Wahid
- Zhihong Sun
- L. Kwok
- Heping Zhang
- M. Liong
- PubMed: 30266270
- DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2018.09.010
Abstract
Background & aims: To investigate the effects of probiotic in alleviation of stress in stressed adults, along our focus to identify and justify strain specificity on selected health benefits with a precisely targeted population.
Methods: This 12-weeks randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study investigated the effects of a probiotic (Lactobacillus plantarum P8; 10 log CFU daily) on psychological, memory and cognition parameters in one hundred and three (P8 n = 52, placebo n = 51) stressed adults with mean age of 31.7 ± 11.1 years old. All subjects fulfilled the criteria of moderate stress upon diagnosis using the PSS-10 questionnaire.
Results: At the end of study, subjects on P8 showed reduced scores of stress (mean difference 2.94; 95% CI 0.08 to 5.73; P = 0.048), anxiety (mean difference 2.82; 95% CI 0.35 to 5.30; P = 0.031) and total score (mean difference 8.04; 95% CI 0.73 to 15.30; P = 0.041) as compared to placebo after 4-weeks, as assessed by the DASS-42 questionnaire. Although plasma cortisol levels were only marginally different between placebo and P8 (mean difference 3.28 ug/dl; 95% CI -7.09 to 0.52; P = 0.090), pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ (mean difference 8.07 pg/ml; 95% CI -11.2 to -4.93; P < 0.001) and TNF-α (mean difference 1.52 pg/ml; 95% CI -2.14 to -0.89; P < 0.001) showed higher reduction as compared to placebo over 12-weeks. These were accompanied by enhanced memory and cognitive traits such as social emotional cognition and verbal learning and memory upon administration of P8 as compared to the placebo, with different effects in women as compared to men.
Conclusions: The present data illustrated that L. plantarum P8 is a feasible and natural intervention for the alleviation of selected stress, anxiety, memory and cognitive symptoms in stressed adults.
Trial registration: Approved by the JEPeM-USM Review Panel on Clinical Studies (Approval number USM/JEPeM/16050195) and was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier number NCT03268447).
Keywords: Anxiety; Cognition; Gut-brain-axis; Lactobacillus plantarum P8; Memory; Stress.
Research Insights
| Supplement | Health Outcome | Effect Type | Effect Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lactobacillus plantarum 14D | Reduced Anxiety Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum 14D | Reduced Subjective Stress Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum DR7 | Reduced Anxiety Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum DR7 | Reduced Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Levels | Beneficial | Large |
| Lactobacillus plantarum DR7 | Reduced Subjective Stress Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum HA-119 | Improved Psychological Well-being | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum HA-119 | Improved Social Emotional Cognition | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum HA-119 | Reduced Anxiety Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum HA-119 | Reduced Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Levels | Beneficial | Large |
| Lactobacillus plantarum HA-119 | Reduced Subjective Stress Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL9 | Improved Total DASS-42 Score | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL9 | Reduced Anxiety Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL9 | Reduced Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Levels | Beneficial | Large |
| Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL9 | Reduced Subjective Stress Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum Rosell-1012 | Reduced Anxiety Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum Rosell-1012 | Reduced Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Levels | Beneficial | Large |
| Lactobacillus plantarum Rosell-1012 | Reduced Subjective Stress Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum Rosell-A | Reduced Anxiety Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum Rosell-A | Reduced Pro-inflammatory Cytokines IFN-γ | Beneficial | Large |
| Lactobacillus plantarum Rosell-A | Reduced Pro-inflammatory Cytokines TNF-α Levels | Beneficial | Large |
| Lactobacillus plantarum Rosell-A | Reduced Stress Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum Rosell-A | Reduced Total Score on Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-42) | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum UALp-05M | Reduced Anxiety Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum UALp-05M | Reduced Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Levels | Beneficial | Large |
| Lactobacillus plantarum UALp-05M | Reduced Subjective Stress Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum VPro 10 | Reduced Anxiety Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum VPro 10 | Reduced Inflammation Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |
| Lactobacillus plantarum VPro 10 | Reduced Subjective Stress Levels | Beneficial | Moderate |