Psychobiotics and Mental Health in Obese Women on a Weight-Loss Diet

August 28, 2025 updated by: Rabia Melda Karaağaç, Medipol University

The Effect of Psychobiotic Use on Mental Health, Quality of Life, Anthropometric and Biochemical Outcomes in Obese Women on a Weight-loss Diet

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of psychobiotic supplementation containing Lactobacillus helveticus R0052, Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 strains on mental health, quality of life, anthropometric measurements and some biochemical parameters in obese women. In the randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, 28 obese female participants (14 psychobiotic, 14 placebo) will be given psychobiotic supplement/placebo together with a weight loss diet once a day every day for 4 weeks. Before and after the intervention, anthropometric measurements, blood samples and 24-hour retrospective 3-day food consumption records of the participants will be taken. In addition, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) will be administered to measure mental health, the SF-36 Quality of Life Scale to determine quality of life, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to determine physical activity levels. Psychobiotics, which have entered our lives in recent years, have many beneficial effects on mental health through gut microbiota. However, while the effects of psychobiotics on mental health have been studied, their effects on obesity have not been investigated much. This study is unique in that it is the first study to investigate the effect of psychobiotic use on mental health in obese individuals. However, obesity is known to be an inflammatory disease and there is no study in the literature that includes the systemic immune inflammation index (SII) as a biomarker. SII is effective in evaluating the inflammatory and immune response in the body and determining prognosis; it adds value to clinical practice with early diagnosis of diseases, treatment follow-up and a wide range of uses.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy adults aged ≥ 18-65 years
  • BMI ≥30 kg/m2
  • Willingness to volunteer
  • Able to give written consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Co-administration of probiotics. However, subjects will be eligible to participate after a four (4) week washout period.
  • Pregnant or planning to become pregnant within the next two (2) months.
  • Positive pregnancy test in women of childbearing potential.
  • Use of antibiotic medication (e.g. neomycin, rifaximin) within the last 1 month. If this is the case, the participant will be eligible to participate four (4) weeks after completion of antibiotic treatment (washout period).
  • Individuals with physician-diagnosed psychiatric and neurological conditions.
  • Individuals with irritable bowel syndrome or gastrointestinal disorders.
  • People with immune disorders or possible immunodeficiency states (e.g. due to surgery).
  • Use of anti-inflammatory drugs
  • Use of corticosteroids
  • People who are allergic to milk, corn starch or soya.
  • Foreign nationality.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Psychobiotic Group
Participants will receive a psychobiotic supplement along with a weight-loss diet.
Dietary supplement: Psychobiotic Supplement
Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 Bifidobacterium longum R0175
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Group
Participants will receive a placebo supplement along with a weight-loss diet.
Dietary supplement: Placebo Supplement
Maltodextrin

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in Body Weight (kg) from Baseline to Week 4
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 4
Baseline and Week 4
Changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) from Baseline to Week 4
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 4
Body Mass Index (BMI) will be calculated as weight (kg) / height (m²). Higher BMI values indicate higher body fatness.
Baseline and Week 4

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in mental health status with DASS-21 from Baseline to Week 4
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 4
Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Scores range from 0 to 63 for each subscale, with higher scores indicating worse mental health status.
Baseline and Week 4
Changes in Quality of Life with SF-36 from Baseline to Week 4
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 4
Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36). Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better quality of life.
Baseline and Week 4
Changes in C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Levels from Baseline to Week 4
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 4
C-reactive protein (CRP) measured in mg/L. Higher values indicate greater inflammation.
Baseline and Week 4
Changes in Interleukin-6 (IL-6) Levels from Baseline to Week 4
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 4
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) measured in pg/mL. Higher values indicate greater inflammation.
Baseline and Week 4
Changes in Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index (SII) from Baseline to Week 4
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 4
SII calculated as (Platelets × Neutrophils) / Lymphocytes. Higher scores indicate higher systemic inflammation.
Baseline and Week 4

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Medipol University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 13, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 3, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 3, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 27, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 5, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 6, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 5, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 28, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IMU-BES-RMK-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings