Ekong Moses B, Iniodu Clementina F
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Uyo, Nigeria.
IBRO Neurosci Rep. 2021 Jun 26;11:15-28. doi: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2021.06.002. eCollection 2021 Dec.
Depression is a serious mental and mood disorder with global health and economic burden. This burden may be overwhelming in low income countries, although there are insufficient data. Most antidepressant formulations are predicated on the monoamine, neuroendocrine and neuro-inflammation hypotheses, with little or no cognizance to other neurochemicals altered in depression. A nutritional strategy with or without conventional antidepressants is recommended, as nutrition plays vital roles in the onset, severity and duration of depression, with poor nutrition contributing to its pathogenesis. This review discusses nutritional potentials of utilizing omega-3 fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, minerals and herbs or their phytochemicals in the management of depression with the aim of reducing depression burden. Literature search of empirical data in books and journals in data bases including but not limited to PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science and Google Scholar that might contain discussions of sampling were sought, their full text obtained, and searched for relevant content to determine eligibility. Omega-3 fatty and amino acids had significant positive anti-depression outcomes, while vitamins and minerals although essential, enhanced omega-3 fatty and amino acids activities. Some herbs either as whole extracts or their phytochemicals/metabolites had significant positive anti-depression efficacy. Nutrition through the application of necessary food classes or herbs as well as their phytochemicals, may go a long way to effectively manage depression. This therefore will provide inexpensive, natural, and non-invasive therapeutic means with reduced adverse effects that can also be applied alongside clinical management. This nutritional strategy should be given more attention in research, assessment and treatment for those with depression and other mental illness in low income countries, especially in Africa.
抑郁症是一种严重的精神和情绪障碍，给全球带来了健康和经济负担。尽管数据不足，但在低收入国家，这种负担可能极为沉重。大多数抗抑郁药的配方都是基于单胺、神经内分泌和神经炎症假说，对抑郁症中其他发生改变的神经化学物质很少或根本没有认识。建议采用营养策略，无论是否结合传统抗抑郁药，因为营养在抑郁症的发病、严重程度和持续时间中起着至关重要的作用，营养不良会导致其发病机制。本综述讨论了利用ω-3脂肪酸、蛋白质、维生素、矿物质和草药或其植物化学物质治疗抑郁症的营养潜力，目的是减轻抑郁症负担。在包括但不限于PubMed、Scopus、Science Direct、Web of Science和Google Scholar等数据库中的书籍和期刊中搜索可能包含抽样讨论的实证数据，获取其全文，并搜索相关内容以确定其适用性。ω-3脂肪酸和氨基酸具有显著的抗抑郁积极效果，而维生素和矿物质虽然必不可少，但能增强ω-3脂肪酸和氨基酸的活性。一些草药无论是全提取物还是其植物化学物质/代谢物都具有显著的抗抑郁积极疗效。通过应用必要的食物类别或草药及其植物化学物质进行营养补充，可能在很大程度上有效治疗抑郁症。因此，这将提供廉价、天然且无创的治疗方法，副作用减少，也可与临床治疗同时应用。对于低收入国家，尤其是非洲的抑郁症患者和其他精神疾病患者，这种营养策略在研究、评估和治疗中应得到更多关注。
