Health. Unbalanced intestinal flora … depressive state guaranteed!

The role of the intestinal microbiota is better and better known today. Studies follow one another and reveal the importance of these 100,000 billion bacteria.

We already know that this microbiota plays a role in digestive, metabolic and even immune functions.

And so that an alteration of the intestinal flora, can be the cause of certain diseases.

Recently, a team had shown how an imbalance could be the bedrock of type 2 diabetes.

Work by the Institut Pasteur, Inserm and CNRS has now observed how alterations in the intestinal microbiota can be responsible for mood disorders.

Stress, microbiota and depression

So how does it work out in practice? The authors observed, in animal models, that when a modification of the intestinal microbiota occurs, caused by chronic stress, this causes a collapse of lipid metabolites (small molecules resulting from metabolism) in the blood and the brain.

When these metabolites, called endocannabinoids, are no longer present in the hippocampus, a key region of the brain that helps form our memories and emotions, a state of depression sets in.

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And as the researchers point out, “surprisingly, the simple transfer of the microbiota from an animal with mood disorders to a healthy animal is enough to induce biochemical changes, and confer behaviors synonymous with a depressive state. with the latter ”.

The good news in all of this is that researchers have managed to identify certain bacterial species that are greatly diminished in animals with mood disorders.

And they showed that with an oral treatment composed of these same bacteria, it would be possible to treat the depressive state.

“These bacteria could act as an antidepressant,” they conclude. “We then speak of psychobiotics.”

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