Researchers have developed probiotics that relieve depression, chronic fatigue and anxiety disorders.
Researchers at Yang Ming University plan to have the organisms called PS 128 on the market within a year and are applying for a patent.
Researcher Tsai Ying-jie explains the lab results after PS128 was tested on mice for two weeks. "When you throw mice with depression into the water, they usually don’t swim," Tsai said. "They just float and are quiet for a long time. But if you feed them PS128 for two weeks, they act more normal and jump around in the water.
"If you test them in a box, you’ll find that most mice with depression will just hide in the corner. But after they eat PS128, they act like normal mice and run to the middle."
Dopamine, the brain’s neurotransmitter which helps control its pleasure center, increases after two weeks of PS128. It becomes twice as strong in regular mice and three times as strong in mice with depression.
At least two or three types of probiotics have also been discovered in Europe that aid mental health.