Evidence mapPaperPMID 41195402Full record

ReviewFrontiers in microbiology2025

Gut microbiota as a novel target for treating anxiety and depression: from mechanisms to multimodal interventions.

Zhang Ruohan, Wang Ruting, Wu Hongxi, Huang Zhenjin, Liang Jiale, Zhang Rongxin, Jiang Feng, Song Yuanbo

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Review
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  5. Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Zhang RuohanGraduate School, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Wang RutingGraduate School, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Wu HongxiGraduate School, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Huang ZhenjinGraduate School, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Liang JialeGraduate School, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Zhang RongxinRuikang Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Jiang FengRuikang Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Song YuanboRuikang Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The global prevalence of depression and anxiety continues to rise, with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders estimated to affect approximately 3.1 and 4.8% of the world's population. Yet current pharmacological treatments demonstrate limited efficacy. This limitation has spurred extensive research into alternative treatment methods. Emerging evidence highlights a complex correlation between gut microbiota (GM) imbalance and mental health disorders. Disruptions in GM may trigger or exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and depression by interfering with communication pathways between the gut and brain. These pathways include neural signaling through the vagus nerve, hormone regulation via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, immune responses involving pro-inflammatory cytokines, and metabolic processes related to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Preclinical studies and initial clinical trials indicate promising results for therapeutic interventions targeting gut microbiota. Given that current evidence remains constrained by insufficient depth of understanding regarding underlying mechanisms, this review explores the intricate interactions among the gut microbiota, and brain, highlighting opportunities for advanced therapeutic approaches, focusing on probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, synbiotics, dietary modifications, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), fecal virome transplantation (FVT), and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It elucidates the role of gut microbiota in depression/anxiety and advances therapeutic approaches.

Indexed as

anxietydepressiongut microbiotainterventionmicrobiota-gut-brain axis

Identifiers

PMID41195402
PMCPMC12585160

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.