Probiotics, mood and stress in men
For mood, stress and sleep in men, nothing qualifies. No men-only human trial of R0052 + R0175 exists for any mood, stress or anxiety outcome, and no sex-stratified mood analysis has ever been published. The only randomised men-only psychobiotic trial in the focus set — 20 male students on B. longum 1714 — was null: "it did not alleviate symptoms of chronic stress, depression, or any measure of cognitive assessment", though sleep quality and duration improved (PMID 34589719 (opens in a new tab)). Four placebo-controlled trials of these products totalling n=498 missed their primary mood endpoint (PMIDs 42060410 (opens in a new tab), 37049546 (opens in a new tab), 38732635 (opens in a new tab), 28068788 (opens in a new tab)); against them stands one positive trial of comparable size (n=81 analysed, BDI primary met at p=0.042, strain designators not stated in the publication) and one ambiguous trial in adults ≥60. Pooled effects are large and the same paper proves they are bias-contaminated: SMD −0.96 (95% CI −1.31, −0.61) alongside Egger's regression showing substantial publication bias (intercept −10.86, P<.001), with the effect falling ~32% to SMD −0.64 once seven high-risk studies are excluded (PMID 39731509 (opens in a new tab)). Cortisol claims are unsupported: WMD −0.35 µg/dL, I²=96.9%, GRADE very low, with the authors' own words being that the results "preclude firm conclusions" (PMID 42032711 (opens in a new tab)).
Mood, stress and sleep, in one paragraph, with the strain pair it names checked below against every label this audit has transcribed.
Where this outcome sits in the 22-row table
The grade is assigned on the hub’s 22-row table and argued above. The row is reproduced here unchanged, so the grade a reader quotes from this page is the same grade the table carries. What a grade measures is set out under how the grades work: it is a statement about the strength of the evidence for a named strain, never a statement that a product does anything.
| # | Outcome | Best grade at strain level | The strain, and the trial behind it | Buyable at the dose that was studied? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Mood, stress and anxiety in men | Grade F for **Mood, stress and anxiety in men** — nothing qualifies | — | Nothing qualifies |
The strains named above, and the labels in this audit that print them
Every row below is a line on a printed supplement panel, read off that product’s own teardown. A panel printing a designator is a fact about the panel. It is not evidence that the product was tested, that it delivers the amount that was studied, or that the strain does anything — several of the paragraphs above say in terms that it does not, and the dose is unknowable wherever the panel gives no per-organism quantity.
- L. helveticus R0052
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- Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Probiotics Mood+ Shelf-Stable, 60 vegetarian capsules Panel prints “Lactobacillus helveticus R0052” with no per-organism quantity — the amount is inside a blend total · this record carries a verification flag.
- Jarrow Formulas Jarro-Dophilus EPS 10 Billion CFU, 120 Enteric-Coated Veggie Caps Panel prints “Lactobacillus helveticus R0052” with no per-organism quantity — the amount is inside a blend total.
- Jarrow Formulas Jarro-Dophilus EPS 25 Billion CFU, Enteric-Coated Veggie Caps Panel prints “Lactobacillus helveticus R0052” with no per-organism quantity — the amount is inside a blend total.
- Life Extension FLORASSIST Probiotic Mood Improve, 30 vegetarian capsules (item 02250) Panel prints “Lactobacillus helveticus Rosell-52” with no per-organism quantity — the amount is inside a blend total · this record carries a verification flag.
- XYMOGEN Probio Defense, 84 capsules (SKU 000000000300000926) Panel prints “Lactobacillus helveticus Rosell-52” with no per-organism quantity — the amount is inside a blend total · this record carries a verification flag.
- B. longum R0175
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- Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Probiotics Mood+ Shelf-Stable, 60 vegetarian capsules Panel prints “Bifidobacterium longum R0175” with no per-organism quantity — the amount is inside a blend total · this record carries a verification flag.
- Life Extension FLORASSIST Probiotic Mood Improve, 30 vegetarian capsules (item 02250) Panel prints “Bifidobacterium longum Rosell-175” with no per-organism quantity — the amount is inside a blend total · this record carries a verification flag.
- XYMOGEN Probio Defense, 84 capsules (SKU 000000000300000926) Panel prints “Bifidobacterium longum Rosell-175” with no per-organism quantity — the amount is inside a blend total · this record carries a verification flag.
- B. longum 1714
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- Just Thrive Just Calm Panel prints “Bifidobacterium longum 1714™” at 30 mg / 3 billion CFU.
Read next
- Probiotics for IBS in men: the trial record, strain by strain No human RCT of any named strain, in men only, with an IBS endpoint. What exists: one null sex comparison, two failed primaries, strain by strain.
- Probiotics and testosterone in men: the whole chain, end to end The claim starts in one mouse study, and the same strain then failed in men in a trial run by the company that sells it. Every link in the chain.
- Probiotic safety, and who should not take them The pooled safety data are genuinely reassuring, and the literature that produced those nulls did not systematically look. Both halves, with the scope.
- The evidence hub All 22 outcomes in one table, the strain × outcome table, and every other outcome page.
- What to buy, and what not to The verdict, the five reasons a man arrives here, and the products ranked by how much their labels disclose. Two of the five reasons end in nothing.