Screening psychobiotic bacteria in the human colonic microbiota under high perceived stress
4 affiliations
- 1Laboratory of Food Quality Management, Department of Food Sciences, FARAH - Veterinary Public Health, University of Liège
- 2Lacto Research sprl
- 3Laboratory of Proteomics and Microbiology, Research Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons
- 4Laboratory of Food Analysis, Department of Food Sciences, FARAH - Veterinary Public Health, University of Liège
Abstract
Psychobiotic bacteria hold promise for modulating the gut-brain axis, particularly under stress-induced dysbiosis. In this study, nine psychobiotic formulations were evaluated using a novel simplified batch version (M-batches) of the Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem, including the mucosal compartment (M-SHIME®), inoculated with fecal samples from highly stressed donors. Several treatments, particularly those containing Heyndrickxia coagulans [ATB-BCS-042] with either Levilactobacillus (Lv.) brevis [THT-030-201] or Lactiplantibacillus plantarum [THT-030-702], led to significant increases in Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia muciniphila. Modulations in butyrate-producing taxa were observed with H. coagulans + Lactobacillus (L.) gasseri [THT-031-301] and Enterococcus faecium [ATB-EFM-030] + Lactobacillus helveticus [THT-031-102]. Combinations of H. coagulans with either Lv. brevis, L. gasseri, or Lactobacillus johnsonii [THT-032-401] facilitated lactobacilli colonization. Dopamine levels increased with E. faecium + Lacticaseibacillus (Lc.) paracasei [THT-031-901] and H. coagulans + L. johnsonii, whereas other metabolites, such as Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA) and ammonia, remained largely unchanged across treatments. Metabolic outputs also included aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-activating metabolites, with the strongest effect seen for H. coagulans + L. gasseri, suggesting involvement with stress-related host signaling pathways. Among all probiotics, cocktails containing H. coagulans with either Lv. brevis or L. gasseri produced the most consistent and multifaceted effects. These findings underscore psychobiotic formulations that enhance gut microbiota resilience and boost metabolites potentially influencing host pathways under stress. Using fecal microbiota from highly stressed donors offers a promising in vitro approach that better reflects stress-related gut ecosystems for translational microbiome-brain axis research.
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BibTeX
@article{goyajorge2026screening,
title = {{Screening psychobiotic bacteria in the human colonic microbiota under high perceived stress}},
author = {Elizabeth Goya-Jorge and Céline Antoine and Irma Gonza and Mohamed Al-Chihab and Philippe Thonart and Germain Druart and Cyril T. Mascolo and Baptiste Leroy and Samiha Boutaleb and Caroline Douny and Marie-Louise Scippo and Véronique Delcenserie},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-62011-6},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62011-6},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Screening psychobiotic bacteria in the human colonic microbiota under high perceived stress
AU - Elizabeth Goya-Jorge
AU - Céline Antoine
AU - Irma Gonza
AU - Mohamed Al-Chihab
AU - Philippe Thonart
AU - Germain Druart
AU - Cyril T. Mascolo
AU - Baptiste Leroy
AU - Samiha Boutaleb
AU - Caroline Douny
AU - Marie-Louise Scippo
AU - Véronique Delcenserie
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-62011-6
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62011-6
AB - Psychobiotic bacteria hold promise for modulating the gut-brain axis, particularly under stress-induced dysbiosis. In this study, nine psychobiotic formulations were evaluated using a novel simplified batch version (M-batches) of the Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem, including the mucosal compartment (M-SHIME®), inoculated with fecal samples from highly stressed donors. Several treatments, particularly those containing Heyndrickxia coagulans [ATB-BCS-042] with either Levilactobacillus (Lv.) brevis [THT-030-201] or Lactiplantibacillus plantarum [THT-030-702], led to significant increases in Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia muciniphila. Modulations in butyrate-producing taxa were observed with H. coagulans + Lactobacillus (L.) gasseri [THT-031-301] and Enterococcus faecium [ATB-EFM-030] + Lactobacillus helveticus [THT-031-102]. Combinations of H. coagulans with either Lv. brevis, L. gasseri, or Lactobacillus johnsonii [THT-032-401] facilitated lactobacilli colonization. Dopamine levels increased with E. faecium + Lacticaseibacillus (Lc.) paracasei [THT-031-901] and H. coagulans + L. johnsonii, whereas other metabolites, such as Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA) and ammonia, remained largely unchanged across treatments. Metabolic outputs also included aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-activating metabolites, with the strongest effect seen for H. coagulans + L. gasseri, suggesting involvement with stress-related host signaling pathways. Among all probiotics, cocktails containing H. coagulans with either Lv. brevis or L. gasseri produced the most consistent and multifaceted effects. These findings underscore psychobiotic formulations that enhance gut microbiota resilience and boost metabolites potentially influencing host pathways under stress. Using fecal microbiota from highly stressed donors offers a promising in vitro approach that better reflects stress-related gut ecosystems for translational microbiome-brain axis research.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -