A new study from researchers in China suggests that caffeine — a prominent chemical compound in the magic elixir coffee — may help prevent depression caused by chronic stress.
Published Aug. 5 in the European Journal of Pharmacology, an Elsevier title, the study suggests caffeine may help protect an important gut-brain connection, referred to as the “gut-brain axis,” that has been associated with the development of depression in humans.
Led by a team of researchers at Chongqing University and affiliated institutions, the new study used laboratory mice, including groups that were exposed to chronic stress and groups that were injected with caffeine.
Mice exposed to chronic stress but not to caffeine showed damage to their intestinal lining and changes in their gut microbiome, along with higher levels of inflammation in both the blood and the brain. Yet in the caffeine-treated, stressed group, those changes were largely absent, the authors wrote. Additionally, the caffeine-treated mice behaved more like their non-stressed counterparts.
The “gut-brain axis” has emerged as a key area of research in mental health, according to the researchers. Recent studies cited by the authors suggest that gut microbes can influence mood, brain inflammation and even cognitive function. The new findings build on earlier research linking coffee or caffeine consumption with lower depression risk in humans.
One major 2023 study involving data from nearly 150,000 human subjects associated moderate coffee consumption with reduced depression and anxiety.
While this study was conducted in mice, the authors say the results could have implications for understanding how daily caffeine intake might support the mental health of humans who are exposed to chronic stress.
“The results suggested that early caffeine intervention might prevent depression by regulating gut microbiota, intestinal barrier integrity and neuroinflammation,” the authors wrote.
Find the complete study here.
Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. For all the latest coffee industry news, subscribe to the DCN newsletter.
Comment