Exploring psychobiotics from human breast milk: A new frontier in mental health promotion

Title : Exploring psychobiotics from human breast milk: A new frontier in mental health promotion

Abstract:

Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health ailments in the world, occurring in approximately 5% of cases of adult depression. Both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treat these ailments widely, but their side effects cannot be overlooked. The gut-brain axis, a highly developed system of two-way dialogue between the gastrointestinal system and the brain, is responsible for mood, cognitive function, and emotional health. Certain probiotics, referred to as psychobiotics, can positively affect mental health by altering the gut microbiota. Psychobiotics, predominantly beneficial bacteria, deliver mental health advantages when taken in adequate quantities. The bacteria are typically found in fruits, vegetables, animals, and human beings, of whom those of human origin are found to be highly safe and useful due to their compatibility in human physiology. Significantly, human breast milk-derived psychobiotics studies are in their infancy, though human breast milk is a probiotics reservoir that is highly usable to treat mental health. Proven to be safe (Generally Regarded as Safe, or GRAS) and useful in curing various ailments, my work is focused on isolating psychobiotics in human breast milk and researching their use in curing mental disorder. In this study, breastmilk samples were aseptically collected from healthy lactating mothers and cultured using MRS media. A total of 188 bacterial isolates were screened for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) production. The potent strain exhibited notable resistance to gastrointestinal conditions and antimicrobial activity. The fermentation parameters were optimized for the maximum GABA production. These findings suggest that breastmilk-derived psychobiotics are a promising, generally recognized as safe (GRAS) source for developing microbiota-based interventions aimed at enhancing mental health through gut-brain axis modulation.

Keywords: Psychobiotics, gut-brain axis, GABA, human breastmilk, fermentation, mental health

Biography:

Ms. Anagha M is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Biotechnology, M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India. Her research focuses on probiotic microorganisms, particularly psychobiotics capable of producing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and their potential role in functional foods and mental health. She has successfully isolated and characterized potent psychobiotic strains from breast milk, evaluating their probiotic attributes, including acid and bile tolerance, antimicrobial activity, and safety profiling. Her work also emphasizes optimization of fermentative parameters for enhanced GABA production, combining kinetic and thermodynamic approaches to understand microbial metabolism. She has presented her research findings at national and international conferences. Her broader research interests include microbiome–gut–brain interactions, postbiotics, and the development of nutraceutical formulations. She aims to contribute to the advancement of safe and effective probiotic strains for applications in food biotechnology and human health.