Natural products targeting the gut-brain axis for the treatment of post-cardiac procedures anxiety or depression.
Ning B, Wei Y, Luo C, Yang L, Zheng Z
Medicinal Plants
Herbal compounds used in traditional medicine for centuries are now backed by clinical evidence for resetting the gut-brain communication network that goes haywire after major surgery — validating what plant-based healers have long observed about the body's interconnectedness.
After heart surgery, many patients develop anxiety or depression, and researchers now believe a major culprit is disruption of the gut bacteria community and how it communicates with the brain. A large review of 168 studies found that plant-derived compounds — including herbs from traditional Chinese medicine — can restore this gut-to-brain signaling by feeding beneficial bacteria, calming inflammation, and supporting production of mood-related brain chemicals. Importantly, these natural remedies showed fewer side effects than conventional drugs, making them particularly suitable for patients still recovering from surgery.
Key Findings
Gut microbiome dysbiosis and neuroimmune crosstalk dysfunction are identified as the core drivers of post-cardiac surgery anxiety and depression across 168 eligible studies spanning multiple major databases
Natural plant products restore gut health by increasing Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus abundance, boosting short-chain fatty acid production, and inhibiting pro-inflammatory pathways including NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome
Plant compounds simultaneously regulate neurotransmitters (serotonin/5-HT) and neurotrophic factors (BDNF), offering multi-target therapeutic effects with high biocompatibility and low toxicity compared to single-target pharmaceuticals
chevron_right Technical Summary
A systematic review of 168 studies finds that disruptions to the gut-brain axis — particularly gut microbiome imbalance and neuroinflammation — drive anxiety and depression after heart surgery, and that plant-derived natural products can restore this balance through multiple simultaneous targets.
Abstract Preview
Post-cardiac surgery anxiety or depression (PCPAD) is a common neuropsychiatric complication following cardiovascular interventional procedures, which significantly increases the risk of adverse ca...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Ancient Amazonian forests were planted and tended by Indigenous farmers
Forests and fruits we romanticize as wild — including many plants now in our kitchens and gardens — may exist in their current abundance precisely because an...
Ethnobotany is the interdisciplinary study of how humans use, manage, and perceive plants across different cultures, drawing on knowledge from botany, anthropology, ecology, and chemistry. It matters for plant science because it documents traditional ecological knowledge that can reveal previously
arrow_forward Explore topic