ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Integrative Physiology
Kefir Enhances Stress Resilience and Mitigates PTSD-Related Behavioral and Hematological Changes in Mice
Provisionally accepted
- Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine
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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex psychiatric condition characterized by behavioral, cognitive, immunological, and neurochemical disturbances following traumatic experiences. Despite various therapeutic approaches, effective long-term treatments remain limited, highlighting the need for preventive strategies that enhance stress resilience. In this study, we evaluated the impact of long-term kefir consumption on behavioral, hematological, and biochemical parameters in a mouse model displaying some PTSD-like features, particularly fear-and anxiety-related behaviors induced by acute inescapable stress. Male C57BL/6J mice received kefir daily for two months before stress induction via electric foot shocks and continued supplementation for five additional months during recovery. Behavioral testing demonstrated that kefir-fed mice exhibited reduced anxiety-like behaviors, including increased exploration in the open field, elevated plus maze, and light/dark box tests. These mice also showed fewer freezing episodes in the aversive context test, indicating attenuated fear memory. Hematological analysis revealed a modest reduction in erythrocyte count and monocytes, alongside elevated paraoxonase (PON) activity, suggesting enhanced antioxidant defense and a shift toward anti-inflammatory immune responses. RT-qPCR analysis of the cerebral cortex showed increased steady-state transcript levels of genes involved in oxidative stress response and neuroprotection (TXNRD1, UGDH, HSPB8, GADD45B, PPARGC1A) and decreased levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine gene IL6 transcript. These results indicate that long-term kefir intake mitigates stress-induced behavioral and physiological alterations, likely through modulation of immune and oxidative stress pathways. Taken together, our findings support the potential of kefir as a functional dietary intervention for promoting stress resilience and alleviating PTSD-like symptoms, possibly via mechanisms involving the gut-brain axis.
Keywords: stress, Anxiety, Behavior, PTSD, open field test, foot shock, Inflammation
Received: 09 Aug 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lushchak, Balatskyi, Dmytriv and Divnych. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Volodymyr Lushchak, volodymyr.lushchak@pnu.edu.ua
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