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Impact of probiotic supplementation on exercise endurance among nonelite athletes: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, clinical trial.

  • 2024-10-01
  • Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme 49(10)
    • Caitlin E McDermott
    • Taylor C Judkins
    • Heather K Vincent
    • Tyler Culpepper
    • James Colee
    • Carmelo Nieves
    • Anne E Mathews
    • Bobbi Langkamp-Henken

Study Design

Type
Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)
Population
generally healthy adult, nonelite runners who typically ran ≥24 km/week, ran or cross-trained 3-5 days per week, and had a maximal oxygen intake (V̇O2 max) in the 60-85th percentile
Methods
randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel trial; baseline and following 6 weeks of supplementation with a probiotic (Lactobacillus helveticus Lafti L10, 5×10^9 CFU/capsule/day) or placebo; submaximal treadmill running tests at 85% of V̇O2 max; participants self-reported GI and cold/flu symptoms and physical activity via daily and weekly questionnaires
This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel trial investigated whether generally healthy adult, nonelite runners would have a greater time-to-exhaustion during submaximal treadmill running with probiotic versus placebo supplementation. It was hypothesized that the probiotic would impact training progression by reducing gastrointestinal (GI) and cold/flu symptoms. Participants who typically ran ≥24 km/week, ran or cross-trained 3-5 days per week, and had a maximal oxygen intake (V̇O2 max) in the 60-85th percentile were enrolled. V̇O2 max was used to establish individualized workload settings (85% of V̇O2 max) for the submaximal endurance tests at baseline and following 6 weeks of supplementation with a probiotic (Lactobacillus helveticus Lafti L10, 5×109 CFU/capsule/day) or placebo. Participants self-reported GI and cold/flu symptoms and physical activity via daily and weekly questionnaires. Outcomes were tested using a linear model to determine if mean response values adjusted for baseline differed between groups. Twenty-eight participants (n = 14/group), aged 25 ± 5 years (mean ± SD) with a body mass index of 23 ± 3 kg/m2, completed the study. At the final visit the probiotic group had a lower time-to-exhaustion versus the placebo group (P = 0.01) due to an increase in time-to-exhaustion with the placebo (1344 ± 188 to 1565 ± 219 s, P = 0.01) with no change with the probiotic (1655 ± 230 to 1547 ± 215 s, P = 0.23). During the intervention, the probiotic group completed fewer aerobic training sessions per week (P = 0.02) and trained at a lower intensity (P = 0.007) versus the placebo group. Few GI and cold/flu symptoms were reported with no differences between groups. Time-to-exhaustion increased in the placebo group, possibly due to differences in training habits.

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