Enhancing pediatric attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment: exploring the gut microbiota effects of French maritime pine bark extract and methylphenidate intervention

Introduction The pathogenesis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is thought to be multifactorial, with a potential role for the bidirectional communication between the gut microbiome and brain development and function. Since the “golden-standard” medication therapy with methylphenidate (MPH) is linked to multiple adverse effects, there is a need for alternative treatment options such as dietary polyphenols. These secondary plant metabolites exert antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, but much less is known about their impact on the gut microbiota. Since polyphenols are believed to modulate gut microbial composition, interventions might be advantageous in ADHD therapy. Therefore, intervention studies with polyphenols in ADHD therapy investigating the gut microbial composition are highly relevant. Methods Besides the primary research questions addressed previously, this study explored a potential prebiotic effect of the polyphenol-rich French Maritime Pine Bark Extract (PBE) compared to MPH and a placebo in pediatric ADHD patients by studying their impact on the gut microbiota via amplicon sequencing of the full length 16S rRNA gene ribosomal subunit (V1-V9). Results One interesting finding was the high relative abundance of Bifidobacteria among all patients in our study cohort. Moreover, our study has identified that treatment (placebo, MPH and PBE) explains 3.94% of the variation in distribution of microbial taxa (adjusted p -value of 0.011). Discussion Our small sample size (placebo: n = 10; PBE: n = 13 and MPH: n = 14) did not allow to observe clear prebiotic effects in the patients treated with PBE. Notwithstanding this limitation, subtle changes were noticeable and some limited compositional changes could be observed. Clinical Trial Registration doi: 10.1186/S13063-017-1879-6