A review on probiotics and mental health: exploring the gut-brain axis and its therapeutic potential

The relationship deemed with the axis of gut-brain has come to be a major area of interest in the pathophysiology of mental health disorders. At the centre of this interaction is the gut microbiota, which communicates with the brain through neural, endocrine, immune, and metabolic pathways. Probiotics, which has led to the term "psyc­­­­­­­­­­hobiotics" being coined. This article is meant to bring out the elements and mechanisms of the gut-brain axis concerning microbiota's role in neurodevelopment and behaviour, and its probiotics' therapeutic potential in psychopathologies such as depression, anxiety, stress response disorders, and other psychiatric disorders. Both preclinical and clinical studies have been reviewed for their evidence on the efficacy and safety of probiotics in strengthening mental health outcomes. Challenges such as strain and dosage variance, by understanding and possibly using the gut-brain-microbiota interaction via selective probiotic treatments could open up new ways of adjunctive treatment for mental health disorders.