Probiotic Lactobacillus Gasseri CP2305 Mitigates the Effects of Chronic Stress

by | Sep 23, 2019 | 2019, Probiotics, Stress

Written by Joyce Smith, BS. This study demonstrated that the long-term use of CP2305-containing tablets may improve the stress-associated mental state, sleep quality, and gut microbiota of healthy adults under stressful conditions.

probioticsThe bidirectional communication system of the “gut-brain axis” links the microbial community with the brain via immune, endocrine, and neural pathways 1. This two-way highway allows for gut-brain interactions that may significantly impact intestinal homeostasis and brain function 2 . Through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, probiotics can mitigate stress-induced visceral pain and behavior 3, and relieve mood disturbances via vagal nerve signaling 4,5. Previous studies have shown that Lactobacillus plantarum 299v improved cognitive performance of patients with major depressive disorder 6; Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 reduced depression, and improved the quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 7 and Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota relieved stress-associated symptoms in young adults experiencing stressful situations 5.

Another probiotic, Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305, when tested as both a live and heat-activated probiotic, has suggested its ability to mitigate the effects of stress 8. A previous study by the Nishida team demonstrated how a twelve -week consumption of a heat-inactivated CP2305-containing beverage significantly reduced the stress-associated symptoms in medical students preparing for a national certification exam 9.  Tablets of heat-inactivated bacteria have the advantage of longer shelf-life, portability, less sugar and fewer artificial ingredients. The capability of heat-inactivated CP2305 to exhibit bioactivity in the absence of bioactive metabolites spurred Nishida and team to evaluate the effect on measurable stress parameters of a tablet containing heat-inactivated, washed and dried Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305 on medical students preparing for a national exam 9.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of sixty Japanese medical students (41 men and 19 women), preparing for the national examination for medical practitioners, ingested tablets containing either heat inactivated CP2305-containing or placebo once daily for 24 weeks. Results revealed a significant reduction in anxiety and sleep disturbances in the CP2305 group relative to the placebo group as quantified by the Spiel Berger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Single-channel sleep electroencephalograms show that CP2305 significantly shortened the time required to fall asleep as well as wake time after sleep onset, and increased the delta power ratio in the first sleep cycle. CP2305 also significantly lowered salivary chromogranin A levels compared to placebo. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene sequencing of participant feces demonstrated that CP2305 administration significantly prevented the stress-induced decline in the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium spp. and the stress-induced increase in the relative abundance of Streptococcus spp. compared with placebo which had reduced levels of Bifidobacterium spp. and elevated levels of  stress-induced Streptococcus spp.

The mechanism underlying the stress-relieving effects of Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305 is unknown. However, there are unpublished observations showing that heat-inactivated cells can stimulate the afferent vagal nerve when administered to the rat stomach or intestine. These heat-inactivated cells might effectively stimulate the gut–brain axis directly or indirectly to modify HPA axis activity and lead to an improvement in stress-associated symptoms and the intestinal environment. Regardless, this study suggests that a tablet containing heat-activated, washed, and dried Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305 may be beneficial for young adults experiencing stressful conditions.

Source: Nishida, Kensei, Daisuke Sawada, Yuki Kuwano, Hiroki Tanaka, and Kazuhito Rokutan. “Health Benefits of Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305 Tablets in Young Adults Exposed to Chronic Stress: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.” Nutrients 11, no. 8 (2019): 1859.

© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-SA license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/).

Click here to read the full text study.

Posted September 23, 2019.

Joyce Smith, BS, is a degreed laboratory technologist. She received her bachelor of arts with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology from  the University of Saskatchewan and her internship through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Bloomingdale, IL.

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