Probiotic supplementation in sports and physical exercise: Does it present any ergogenic effect?
Abstract
Background: Probiotics are live microorganisms that promote health benefits to the host. Evidence indicates that some probiotic strains play an immunomodulatory role and reduce the incidence of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in athletes and in physical activity practitioners. For this reason, probiotic supplementation could indirectly improve exercise performance. However, recent studies have observed direct ergogenic effects of probiotics, but the mechanisms of action are poorly elucidated. Objective: In this study, we aim to synthesize available knowledge on the effect of probiotics on physical exercise, identify the mechanisms of action by which probiotics could improve performance directly and indirectly, and verify whether probiotics have any ergogenic effect. Methods: The study was performed in the PubMed database in February 2017, without limitation as to the publication period. The keyword combinations used were: ‘Probiotics’ and ‘Sports’ ( n = 17 articles), ‘Probiotics’ and ‘Exercise’ ( n = 26 articles) and ‘Probiotics’ and ‘Athletes’ ( n = 11 articles). Results: Of the 16 studies evaluated, only six applied performance tests, of which only two demonstrated that probiotic supplementation increases performance, but one of them was performed with mice. Conclusions: According to the studies evaluated, probiotic supplementation does not present ergogenic effect, however, considering the small number of studies, this subject should be better investigated.
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Coqueiro et al. noted that in clinical practice probiotic supplementation should be implemented for at least 14 days prior to competition or important events for the athlete.
“Coqueiro et al. [188] noted that in clinical practice probiotic supplementation should be implemented for at least 14 days prior to competition or important events for the athlete.”
From International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Probiotics (2019) · cites this paper as [188]
The time of adaptation of the organism to the probiotic is approximately 14 days.
“The period of supplementation is another important factor as the time of adaptation of the organism to the probiotic is approximately 14 days.”
From International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Probiotics (2019) · cites this paper as [188]
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- Authors
- Coqueiro, A. Y., de Oliveira Garcia, A. B., Rogero, M. M., & Tirapegui, J.
- Affiliations
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Department of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Corresponding author
- Coqueiro, Audrey Yule
- Venue
- Nutrition and Health
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-12
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 239-249
- ISSN
- 0260-1060 (ISSN-L)
- 2047-945X
- OpenAlex
- W2774809995
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 5
- FWCI
- 4.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Nutrition and Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (2016/04910-0)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Keywords
- probiotics, ergogenic aids, exercise performance, athletes, physical activity, immunomodulation, respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, mechanism of action
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Fatigue, Humans, Sports, Reproducibility of Results, Exercise, Probiotics, Athletic Performance, Performance-Enhancing Substances, Sports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
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