Ecologic® Barrier enhances mood in healthy adults

About the study

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 88 healthy adults with an average age of 22 years, all free from psychological or psychiatric conditions. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group received Ecologic® (2.5×109CFU/g, 2g daily), while the other took a placebo for 28 days. Throughout the study, both groups completed nine different standardized questionnaires and daily mood tracking. Standardized questionnaires require individuals to agree or disagree with predefined statements. Daily mood tracking allows participants to self-assess their feelings on each day. They estimate the intensity of both positive and negative emotions.

The value of daily mood tracking

In healthy populations, scores on standardized questionnaires tend to be low and may not effectively capture the natural variability in mood that people in the general population experience. To address this limitation, participants in this study were asked not only to complete standardized questionnaires, but also to estimate the amount of positive and negative feelings they experienced throughout the day using a visual scale. This real-time tracking approach offers a finer resolution of emotional changes over time, capturing subtle shifts that standard retrospective questionnaires might miss.

Main results

After two weeks, participants who took Ecologic® Barrier reported fewer negative emotions in their daily self-reports. At the same time, their positive emotions remained stable. This is a promising outcome, as many mood-altering treatments are often associated with a reduction in emotional intensity.

The study also found that certain thinking and behaviour patterns, such as a tendency to avoid risks (measured by the LEIDS-R risk aversion scale), were associated with a reduction in negative feelings. This means that individuals with higher risk-aversion may benefit more from the formulation. Daily mood tracking proved to be a highly sensitive method for detecting these changes, even when standardized questionnaires showed no significant differences between the groups.

Conclusions

Ecologic® Barrier offers a promising, science-backed solution for reducing negative mood, while maintaining positive emotions in healthy individuals. By using innovative methods like daily mood tracking, this research provides valuable insights into how probiotics can enhance emotional well-being and quality of life. Building on Assistent Professor Laura Steenbergen’s earlier work, the study demonstrates how Ecologic® Barrier reduces negative mood and underscores the probiotic’s potential to enhance emotional regulation through the gut-brain axis.

Source: Katerina V.-A. Johnson & Laura Steenbergen. Probiotics reduce negative mood over time: the value of daily self-reports in detecting effects, 2025