Prebiotic Food Intake May Improve Bone Resorption in Japanese Female Athletes: A Pilot Study.

Tatsuya Ishizu,Eri Takai,Suguru Torii,Motoko Taguchi

doi:10.3390/sports9060082

Tatsuya Ishizu, Eri Takai + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9060082

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to clarify the influence of inulin and lactulose-fortified prebiotic food intakes on bone metabolism turnover among Japanese female athletes. The participants included 29 female athletes aged 18–25 years. They were requested to consume their habitual foods or drinks with one pack of prebiotic food every day for 12 weeks. Dietary intake, training time, body composition, blood sample, and fecal microbiota were assessed during this intervention period. Body composition, total energy intake, and training time of the participants revealed no significant changes during the intervention period. The occupation ratio of Bifidobacterium spp. was significantly increased at 3 and 4 weeks (18.0 ± 8.3% and 17.6 ± 8.5%, respectively) compared to that of pre-intervention (11.7 ± 7.3%) (p = 0.019 and p = 0.035, respectively). The serum TRACP-5b level was significantly decreased at 12 weeks (363 ± 112 mU/dL) compared to that at baseline (430 ± 154 mU/dL) (p = 0.018). These results suggest that the prebiotic food used in this study might have beneficial effects on bone health and gut microbial environment among female athletes. Further studies are warranted to identify the mechanism of the prebiotics–gut–bone axis.

Highlights

We have developed a new food with low energy including prebiotics such as inulin and lactulose
The main main finding finding of ofthis thisstudy studyrevealed revealedthat thatinulin inulinand andlactulose-fortified lactulose-fortifiedprebiotic prebiotic
The food intakes for weeks suppressed bone resorption marker and increased the food intakes for 12 weeks suppressed bone resorption marker and increased the occupation occupation ratio of in the gut microbiota without body weight gain ratio of Bifidobacterium spp. in the gut microbiota without body weight gain among the among the Japanese female athletes

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Inadequate energy intake can cause a variety of health problems in female athletes. The American College of Sports Medicine defined the concept of the Female Athlete Triad model in 1997 [1] and renewed it in 2007 [2]. This concept highlights the importance of adequate energy intake to assist the athletes’ health, such as bone health, reproductive function, and sport performance

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