6 Best Antidepressive Agents for Natural Mood Support

6 Natural Antidepressant Agents

When you need natural mood support, the following natural compounds may be beneficial.

1. Saffron

This ancient spice -- valued for its medicinal properties for more than 4,000 years -- contains compounds known to alter neurobiological mechanisms, including modulating pathways related to neurotransmitters and affecting immune system regulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and neurotrophins, which mediate neuronal survival and regeneration.

When compared with a placebo, saffron works better for improving depressive symptoms in people with mild to moderate depression. It also worked as well as synthetic antidepressants, such that researchers writing in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease concluded, "[S]affron could be considered as an alternative to synthetic antidepressants in the treatment of mild to moderate depression."

2. Green Tea

Catechins in green tea have been shown to reduce depressive symptoms in animal studies, possibly by inhibiting monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that degrades the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

Green tea catechins may increase levels of noradrenaline and dopamine, helping to combat depression, while theanine, an amino acid in green tea, has anti-stress effects, further helping to reduce depressive symptoms. In a systematic review and meta-analysis, high green tea consumption was associated with a lower risk of depression symptoms.

3. Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender essential oil, which is extracted from the flowers and stalks of the lavender plant, contains more than 160 substances. In Germany, a proprietary lavender essential oil known as Silexan® is approved for the oral treatment of anxiety and, in patients with both anxiety and depressive symptoms, Silexan has exhibited antidepressant-like properties.

Lavender also reduced symptoms of depression in a systematic review and meta-analysis, while researchers from Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in Iran called aromatherapy with lavender essential oil "a complementary, simple, and inexpensive method to improve mild and moderate depression."

4. Cocoa and Dark Chocolate

Consuming cocoa-rich products may improve mood in the short term, and eating dark chocolate is also associated with a reduced risk of depressive symptoms. In 2012, researchers found that eating 50 grams (about 1.76 ounces) of dark chocolate containing 70% cocoa for 3 days was associated with a significant improvement in depressed mood.

Dark chocoloate are rich in polyphenols, which may affect behavior and mood due to their antidepressant-like properties, as well as their ability to attenuate oxidative stress and inflammation, which may play a role in the onset and progression of depression.

5. Omega-3 Fats

Supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), may effectively reduce depressive symptoms. Moderate consumption of fish rich in omega-3 fats or omega-3 fats is also associated with a lower prevalence of depression.

The anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3s are likely involved in their antidepressant-like actions, as up to 50% of people with depression have higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines that may be involved in HPA axis regulation, neurotransmitter metabolism, or the makeup of gut microbiota.

6. Probiotics

Your gut microbiota and central nervous system communicate via the brain-gut-microbiome axis, and numerous studies support the idea that modifying your gut microbiome with beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, may improve your mood.

In a study of 10 patients with a current episode of major depressive disorder (MDD), supplementation with probiotics for eight weeks reduced depressive symptoms and anxiety while increasing overall mood and sleep quality. In another example, 40 people with MDD who took probiotics for 90 days had a reduction in clinical symptoms of depression along with an increase in sleep quality.

In a 2021 study published in Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, researchers from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran concluded, "Probiotics and prebiotics might improve mental function via several mechanisms. Probiotics and prebiotics can improve mental health and psychological function and can be offered as new medicines for common mental disorders.

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