๐ก The psychological health risks associated with manned deep-space exploration and long-term closed environments have prompted research into innovative approaches to maintain and improve the mental well-being of crew members.
This study leveraged the unique setting of the “Lunar Palace 365” mission, a year-long isolation study, to investigate the correlation between gut microbiota and psychological changes. Through comprehensive multiomics analyses, the study identified four potential psychobioticsโ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด, ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ข ๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ท๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด, ๐๐ถ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ป๐ช๐ชโthat demonstrated a significant association with positive moods and a reduction in negative moods.
๐ Key Findings:
๐ Identification of Potential Psychobiotics: ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด, originally isolated from healthy breast-fed infants, demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects and improved metabolic and immune dysfunction. ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ข, ๐๐ถ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ถ๐ฎ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ถ๐ฎ, being abundant in the human gut microbiota, were associated with the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) through the fermentation of dietary fibers.
๐ Functional Mechanisms of Psychobiotics on Mood: Psychobiotics influenced mood through three main pathways related to nervous system functions: Fermentation of dietary fibers to produce SCFAs (e.g., butyric and propionic acids). Regulation of amino acid metabolism pathways (e.g., conversion of glutamic acid to gammaโaminobutyric acid; conversion of tryptophan to serotonin, kynurenic acid, or tryptamine). Regulation of other pathways, including taurine and cortisol metabolism.
๐ Metabolic Pathways Associated with Psychobiotics: Metagenomic and metaproteomic analyses revealed pathways related to polysaccharide metabolism and SCFA production. Metabolomic analysis showed positive correlations between potential psychobiotics and metabolites such as pyruvate, propionic acid, butyric acid, GABA, tryptamine, serotonin, and KYNA.
๐ Animal Experiments Confirming Psychobiotic Effects: Behavioral tests on rats subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) demonstrated that potential psychobiotics reduced depression- and anxiety-like behaviors. Metabolite analysis in rats supported the multiomics findings, indicating increased SCFA production and modulation of neurotransmitter pathways.
๐ Additional Mechanisms of Psychobiotics: Psychobiotics were found to produce other small molecule metabolites (e.g., histamine, L-glutamine, and noradrenaline hydrochloride). Psychobiotics reduced immune factors and biomarkers associated with intestinal permeability and inflammation, suggesting a positive impact on the enteric nervous system (ENS) and central nervous system (CNS).
๐ This study provides a significant step toward understanding the role of gut microbiota in maintaining mental health during extended space missions. The identified potential psychobiotics offer promising avenues for developing microbiota-based interventions to safeguard crew mental health during future long-term human space expeditions to the moon or Mars. Additionally, the findings contribute valuable insights for the potential application of psychobiotics in neuropsychiatric treatments on Earth.
Link to the article : http://tinyurl.com/y2zsawum
