Evaluating probiotic properties of gut microflora for gut modulation as an adjuvant therapy for Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease. It is not curable and treatment revolves around controlling the symptoms. The most preferable approach is medicating with levodopa drug. One of the major concerns in treating with this drug is its conversion to dopamine within the gut and 1%−10% of dopamine becomes available to the brain, thus compromising the effectiveness of the treatment. Other dominant concerns are γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) collapse and serotonergic dysfunction that leads to secondary symptoms. To counter-balance its appalling repercussions reversal of gut bacterial dysbiosis, gut modulation by supportive bacteria is the new uproar, uncovering potent applications. In this study, gut bacteria were focused on having the ability to overcome the drug interference possibility. Samples were collected from PD patients, prone to PD, and healthy individuals for isolation of gut bacteria and were screened for criteria like tyrosine decarboxylase, GABA, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and serotonin production. Thin layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and spectrophotometric analysis were used to test bacteria for the production of GABA and serotonin. A total of 855 isolates were screened and 23 isolates were further evaluated for their probiotic properties. Out of which 6 isolates namely HFS 2.1 TM, HFS 10.2 TM, FS 9.2 SA, HFS 6.2 NA, HFS 11.1 TM, and HFS 11.1 PDA were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing and were screened positive to be prospective psychobiotic agents that could be employed as adjuvant therapy for PD.