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. 2022 May 18;14(10):2111. doi: 10.3390/nu14102111

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© 2022 by the authors.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Potential microbiome–gut–brain communication pathways modulated by plant-derived polysaccharides in mental disorders. Gut microorganisms metabolize polysaccharides that resist digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract into SCFAs. SCFAs modulate gut–brain communication via neural (blue letters), immune (pink letters), and humoral/metabolic (green letters) pathways. SCFAs may reduce cortisol levels, inflammatory mediators, and microglial activation, have a beneficial effect on serotonin synthesis, neurotrophic factors, and various gut neuropeptides, and restore tight junctions in the leaky intestinal epithelium by increasing the expression of tight junction proteins (TJPs). In addition, SCFAs exert local beneficial actions that improve gut health (e.g., maintaining mucus production, anti-inflammatory effects) [37,253,254,255,256]. The major gut–brain mechanisms by which SCFA/active polysaccharide metabolites offer benefit are marked with red arrows ( activation/upregulation, inhibition/downregulation). HDAC: histone deacetylases; GDNF: glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor; NGF: nerve growth factor. ⊕: stimulates/promotes.

Inline graphic — Potential microbiome–gut–brain communication pathways modulated by plant-derived polysaccharides in mental disorders. Gut microorganisms metabolize polysaccharides that resist digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract into SCFAs. SCFAs modulate gut–brain communication via neural (blue letters), immune (pink letters), and humoral/metabolic (green letters) pathways. SCFAs may reduce cortisol levels, inflammatory mediators, and microglial activation, have a beneficial effect on serotonin synthesis, neurotrophic factors, and various gut neuropeptides, and restore tight junctions in the leaky intestinal epithelium by increasing the expression of tight junction proteins (TJPs). In addition, SCFAs exert local beneficial actions that improve gut health (e.g., maintaining mucus production, anti-inflammatory effects) [37,253,254,255,256]. The major gut–brain mechanisms by which SCFA/active polysaccharide metabolites offer benefit are marked with red arrows ( activation/upregulation, inhibition/downregulation). HDAC: histone deacetylases; GDNF: glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor; NGF: nerve growth factor. ⊕: stimulates/promotes.