According to a study in Scientific Reports, consuming galactooligosaccharides prebiotics may induce anxiolytic effects, enhancing psychological and gut health.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Surrey.
During the study, prebiotic consumption of galactooligosaccharides occurred on a daily basis among adult participants recruited from age 18 to 25.
64 healthy female participants were given daily doses of prebiotics for a span of 28 days. Questionnaires were administered to assess health experiences, such as mood and sleep, during the 28-span of consumption with prebiotics.
Co-authors of the study stated: “This new research marks a significant step forward in that we were able to show that we can use a simple and safe food supplement such as prebiotics to improve both the abundance of beneficial gut bacteria in the gut and to improve mental health and wellbeing in young women.”
“This is an exciting study that brings together different dimensions in mental health research; finding prebiotic effects in a sub-clinical group shows promise for translational clinical research on multiple markers of mental health,” concluded the University of Surrey co-author.
