Effect of Lactobacillus plantarum TWK10 on Exercise Physiological Adaptation, Performance, and Body Composition in Healthy Humans

Abstract

Probiotics have been rapidly developed for health promotion, but clinical validation of the effects on exercise physiology has been limited. In a previous study, Lactobacillus plantarum TWK10 (TWK10), isolated from Taiwanese pickled cabbage as a probiotic, was demonstrated to improve exercise performance in an animal model. Thus, in the current study, we attempted to further validate the physiological function and benefits through clinical trials for the purpose of translational research. The study was designed as a double-blind placebo-controlled experiment. A total of 54 healthy participants (27 men and 27 women) aged 20-30 years without professional athletic training were enrolled and randomly allocated to the placebo, low (3 × 10¹⁰ colony forming units (CFU)), and high dose (9 × 10¹⁰ CFU) TWK10 administration groups (n = 18 per group, with equal sexes). The functional and physiological assessments were conducted by exhaustive treadmill exercise measurements (85% VO_2max), and related biochemical indices were measured before and after six weeks of administration. Fatigue-associated indices, including lactic acid, blood ammonia, blood glucose, and creatinine kinase, were continuously monitored during 30 min of exercise and a 90 min rest period using fixed intensity exercise challenges (60% VO_2max) to understand the physiological adaptation. The systemic inflammation and body compositions were also acquired and analyzed during the experimental process. The results showed that TWK10 significantly elevated the exercise performance in a dose-dependent manner and improved the fatigue-associated features correlated with better physiological adaptation. The change in body composition shifted in the healthy direction for TWK10 administration groups, especially for the high TWK10 dose group, which showed that body fat significantly decreased and muscle mass significantly increased. Taken together, our results suggest that TWK10 has the potential to be an ergogenic aid to improve aerobic endurance performance via physiological adaptation effects.

Keywords: Lactobacillus plantarum; body composition; endurance performance; muscle mass; probiotics.

Figure 1

Experimental design. We adopted a double-blind test in which the subjects (18 subjects; men = 9, women = 9 in each group) were assigned to three groups: Placebo, 1× TWK10 (low dose; 3 × 10¹⁰ CFU/day) and 3× TWK10 (high dose; 9 × 10¹⁰ CFU/day). Subjects were administered with the indicated dosage of Lactobacillus plantarum TWK10 or placebo for six weeks. The individual VO_2max was measured prior to experiments for exercise intensity calibration, and the physiological adaptation effects were determined before and after administration using biochemical assessments.

Figure 2

TWK10 improved exercise endurance performance in a dose-dependent manner. Endurance performance was examined under 85% VO_2max exercise intensity before and after TWK10 administration. Data are shown as the mean ± SD. Statistical differences among groups were analyzed using the Tukey–Kramer test, and different letters (a, b, c) indicate a significant difference at P < 0.05. Before and after administration effects were statistically analyzed using a paired Student’s t-test, *** P < 0.001.

Figure 3

TWK10 reduced the content of serum lactate during and after exercise. E: Exercise; R: Rest. During fixed intensity and period exercise tests, blood samples were collected for lactate measurements at indicated time points. The contents of serum lactate were assessed (A) before and (B) after TWK10 administration. Data are shown as the mean ± SD. Statistical differences among groups were analyzed using the Tukey–Kramer test, and different letters (a, b) indicate a significant difference at P < 0.05.

Figure 4

TWK10 reduced the content of serum glucose during and after exercise: (A) Before administration and (B) after administration. Data are shown as the mean ± SD, and the intergroup difference was analyzed by the Tukey–Kramer test. Different letters (a, b) indicate a significant difference at P < 0.05.

Figure 5

TWK10 reduced the content of serum ammonia during and after exercise. During fixed intensity and period exercise tests, blood samples were collected for ammonia measurements at indicated time points. The contents of serum ammonia were assessed (A) before and (B) after TWK10 administration. Data are shown as the mean ± SD. Statistical differences among groups were analyzed using the Tukey–Kramer test, and different letters (a, b) indicate a significant difference at P < 0.05.

Figure 6

TWK10 exerted beneficial effects on body composition. The changes in (A) body fat, (B) body weight, (C) muscle weight, and (D) BMI were calculated as the difference between after and before administration and are shown as the mean ± SD. Statistical difference among groups was analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis test, and different letters (a, b) indicate a significant difference at P < 0.05.