Drastic Effects on the Microbiome of a Young Rower Engaged in High-Endurance Exercise After a Month Usage of a Dietary Fiber Supplement.

Kaia Palm,Tõnis Timmusk,Mariliis Jaago,Uku Siim Timmusk

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.654008

Kaia Palm, Tõnis Timmusk + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.654008

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Abstract

Food supplements are increasingly used worldwide. However, research on the efficacy of such supplements on athlete's well-being and optimal sports performance is very limited. This study performed in junior academic rowing explores the effects of nutritional supplements to aid to the high energy requirements at periods of intense exercise. Herein, the effects of prebiotic fibers on the intestinal microbiome composition of an 18-year-old athlete exercising at high loads during an 8-month period in a “real-life” setting were examined using next-generation sequencing analysis. Results demonstrated that although the alpha diversity of the subject's microbiome drastically decreased [from 2.11 precompetition to 1.67 (p < 0.05)] upon fiber consumption, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio increased significantly [from 3.11 to 4.55, as compared with population average (p < 0.05)]. Underlying these macrolevel microbial alterations were demonstrable shifts from acetate- to butyrate-producing bacteria, although with stable effects on the Veillonella species. To our knowledge, this a unique study that shows pronounced changes in the gut microbiome of the young athlete at the competition season and their favorable compensation by the dietary fiber intake. The data here expand the overall understanding of how the high energy needs in high-intensity sports like academic rowing could be supported by dietary fiber supplement consumption.

Highlights

The microbiome contributes to thehomeostatic regulation of different tissues in our body [1] with the largest and most diverse cluster of microorganisms inhabiting the gut [2]
In our study, there was a significant drop in alpha diversity upon dietary fiber consumption, most conceivably due to the rise in select advantageous bacterial species, such as those involved in butyrate production (Figure 5)
We found that seven genera, namely Prevotella, Parabacteroides (Bacteroidetes), Faecalibacterium, Ruminococcus, Coprococcus, Lachnospira (Firmicutes), and Corynebacterium (Actinobacteria), were reduced upon high exercise loads, but the levels of these were restored upon dietary fiber consumption

Summary

Introduction

The microbiome contributes to thehomeostatic regulation of different tissues in our body [1] with the largest and most diverse cluster of microorganisms inhabiting the gut [2]. It has been observed that endurance athletes present a high prevalence of upper respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal troubles, including a “leaky gut,” disruption of mucous thickness, and higher rates of bacterial translocation [12, 13]. Overall, all these studies suggest that the gut microbiome affects exercise performance and vice versa

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