Introduction

DEPREGUT aims to offer a therapeutic solution for depression, eliminating the possible side effects.

It is self-understood that there are several steps that need to be made for our project to become reality. In this section, you can read the answers to the questions that we think everyone should think about before fully developing a project into a real product available for real people to use.

Would the product be safe?

Lactobacillus rhamnosus gg is a commonly used probiotic that already normally exists in the human gut. As a result, our project shouldn’t have serious side effects. However, we only carried out in vitro experiments for the needs of the competition. If we planned to take our experiments outside the in vitro perspective, we would plan at first administration of our final probiotic to appropriate animal models. We would determine the effectiveness of the transport system and the efficacy of the different doses. We would certainly comply with regulations that are enforced on animal cruelty and the use of them in our experiments. After this, human preclinical and clinical trials would follow, always according to the existent regulations. These studies would provide information on the appropriate doses of the probiotic administered, how and for how long the SCFAs remain intact and active, the longevity of the probiotic, the side effects and the amount of SCFAs produced.

Who would be the proposed end users and how would they have access to the product?

Like every other probiotic, DEPREGUT would be found in drug stores and a prescription would not be needed in order to buy it. Proposed end users would mainly be patients suffering from depression, but people experiencing depressive/ anxious symptoms would also benefit from taking it.

How would it be administered?

We suggest that our probiotic could be administered in two different ways. Firstly, as a dietary supplement. Many probiotics are available in the form of capsules, tablets or powders in the market. Patients could obtain it when they are diagnosed with depression, after consulting their doctor about the right dosage. Secondly, as incorporated in fermented foods (e.g. kefir, yogurt, cheese). As dairy products are nutritious and protein-rich, the consumption of such products would be very helpful for everyone.

How could we test its effectiveness?

The DEPRETECT digital app developed by our team would be a perfect way to monitor the efficiency of our proposed probiotic by observing and recording the symptoms of depression during the consumption of the probiotic. In the time between their appointments with their mental health specialists, DEPRETECT offers patients the chance to conversate with an AI trained chatbot. Afterwards, a user can select a date and see his past conversations with the chatbot. He can also send this conversation to an expert through a friendly e-mail interface that the app offers him.