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Disturbance in the equilibrium of the gut microbiota has been involved in the pathophysiology of depression. Probiotics have the potential to healthfully modulate the gut microbiome. Prebiotics could also be effective by stimulation of growth of some bacterial species in the gut microbiota.

The aim of this double blind clinical trial, was to compare the effect of supplementation with the probiotic and prebiotic on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score as a primary outcome as well as the kynurenine/tryptophan ratio and tryptophan/branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) ratio as secondary outcomes in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

One hundred and ten depressed patients were randomly assigned to receive the probiotic (Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum), prebiotic (galactooligosaccharide) or placebo for 8 weeks. Serum tryptophan and BCAAs were …