Hypnotic Effects of Lactobacillus fermentum PS150TM on Pentobarbital-Induced Sleep in Mice

Abstract

The bidirectional communication between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system appears to be functionally linked to the intestinal microbiome, namely the microbiome–gut–brain axis (MGBA). Probiotics with health benefits on psychiatric or neurological illnesses are generally called psychobiotics, and some of them may also be able to improve sleep by targeting the MGBA. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a psychobiotic strain, Lactobacillus fermentum PS150TM (PS150TM), on sleep improvement by using a pentobarbital-induced sleep mouse model. Compared with the vehicle control group, the oral administration of PS150TM, but not the other L. fermentum strains, significantly decreased the sleep latency and increased the sleep duration of mice, suggesting strain-specific sleep-improving effects of PS150TM. Moreover, the ingestion of diphenhydramine, an antihistamine used to treat insomnia, as a drug control group, only increased the sleep duration of mice. We also found that the sleep-improving effects of PS150TM are time- and dose-dependent. Furthermore, the oral administration of PS150TM could attenuate a caffeine-induced sleep disturbance in mice, and PS150TM appeared to increase the expression of the gene encoding the adenosine 1 receptor in the hypothalamus of mice, as assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Taken together, our results present a potential application of PS150TM as a dietary supplement for sleep improvement.

Psychobiotic Supplementation of PS128TM Improves Stress, Anxiety, and Insomnia in Highly Stressed Information Technology Specialists: A Pilot Study

“…Our finding that the reduction in insomnia severity was complemented by the decrease in salivary cortisol levels, which might indicate possible correlations between probiotic use and sleep improvements through the HPA axis. This finding was in concordance with studies that have shown that some psychobiotics have sleep-improving effects in mice ( 62 ) or humans ( 63 , 64 ), but in contrast with another study that found that the psychobiotic strain JB-1 did not improve sleep compared to the placebo in healthy male volunteers ( 19 ). Previous studies have shown that cortisol may inhibit the syntheses of interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) ( 65 ).…”

“…However, excessive cytokines might still disturb the sleep structure ( 61 , 67 ). Other proposed explanations for the sleep-improving effects of PS128 TM on the regulation of wakefulness or sleep might be related to several neurotransmitters, such as the increase in GABA ( 68 ), decrease in orexin levels or increase in inhibitory adenosine levels in the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus, striatum, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex ( 62 , 69 ). Other non-invasive methods for monitoring changes in sleep stages may be required to clarify how PS128 TM affects the sleep structure among highly stressed individuals.…”

Psychobiotic supplementation of HK-PS23 improves anxiety in highly stressed clinical nurses: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study

“…Those with higher anxiety levels saw shorter average WASO and light sleep stage durations if taking HK-PS23. In line with previous studies that described improvements in sleep after probiotics use, 20,[56][57][58] reductions in the percentage of REM sleep, average time of WASO, and light sleep in our HK-PS23 group may be signs of increased quality of sleep. However, a lower total sleep time in our HK-PS23 group compared to the placebo does not necessarily mean that the participants did not have sufficient sleep.…”

Influence of warm acupuncture on gut microbiota and metabolites in rats with insomnia induced by PCPA

“…At the genus level, a drastic decrease in the relative abundance of the genera Lactobacillus and Clostridium sensu stricto were detected in insomnia rats when compared with the controls. Lactobacillus species have been widely used as probiotics, which exhibit sleep-improving effects [ 27 ]. Additionally, the abundance of Lactobacillus and Clostridium sensu stricto were associated with the concentration of butyrate [ 28 ].…”