Effects of Probiotic (Bacillus subtilis DE111) Supplementation on Immune Function, Hormonal Status, and Physical Performance in Division I Baseball Players

Abstract

We sought to determine the effects of probiotic supplementation (Bacillus subtilis DE111; 1 billion CFU∙d−1) on markers of immune and hormonal status in collegiate male athletes following 12 weeks of offseason training. Twenty-five Division I male baseball athletes (20.1 ± 1.5 years, 85.5 ± 10.5 kg, 184.7 ± 6.3 cm) participated in this double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study. Participants were randomly assigned to a probiotic (PRO; n = 13) or placebo (PL; n = 12) group. Pre- and post-training, all athletes provided resting blood and saliva samples. Circulating concentrations of testosterone, cortisol, TNF-α, IL-10, and zonulin were examined in the blood, while salivary immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and SIgM were assayed as indicators of mucosal immunity. Separate analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were performed on all measures collected post intervention. No differences in measures of body composition or physical performance were seen between groups. TNF-α concentrations were significantly (p = 0.024) lower in PRO compared to PL, while there were no significant group differences in any other biochemical markers examined. A main effect for time was observed (p < 0.05) for increased testosterone (p = 0.045), IL-10 (p = 0.048), SIgA rate (p = 0.031), and SIgM rate (p = 0.002) following offseason training. These data indicate that probiotic supplementation had no effect on body composition, performance, hormonal status, or gut permeability, while it may attenuate circulating TNF-α in athletes.

A Review of the Role of the Gut Microbiome in Personalized Sports Nutrition

“…Common probiotic bacteria used were strains of Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium (133,134,(136)(137)(138)(139)147). Additional strains tested included those belonging to species Bacillus subtillis (140) or Bacillus coagulans (135), Veillonella atypica (141), or even yeast Saccharomyces boulardii (142). The majority of studies investigated the effect of probiotic supplementation on aerobic exercise performance measures such as run time-to-fatigue, VO 2max , max speed attained, 10yard sprint, or 400-meter swim time (132-134, 136, 138, 139, 141, 142).…”

“…The majority of studies investigated the effect of probiotic supplementation on aerobic exercise performance measures such as run time-to-fatigue, VO 2max , max speed attained, 10yard sprint, or 400-meter swim time (132-134, 136, 138, 139, 141, 142). However, some studies also investigated strength and anaerobic outcomes such as grip strength, vertical jump power, standing long jump, Wingate power, or 1 rep max (RM) lifts (133,135,140).…”

“…Effects on performance variables were highly mixed between studies, though a number of studies found beneficial effects on performance parameters such as time-to-fatigue (132-134, 139, 141, 142). However, some studies found no effects of probiotic supplementation on performance metrics (136,140) while other studies found mixed effects, with probiotic supplementation improving some performance measures, but not others (134,135,138). For example, Huang et al (134) found that probiotic supplementation with Lactobacillus plantarum TWK10 increased run time-to-fatigue but not VO 2max .…”

Gut Microbiota, Probiotics and Physical Performance in Athletes and Physically Active Individuals

“…Bacillus subtilis DE111 did not improve either strength or performance in male [ 95 ] or female athletes [ 96 ] when combined with a training protocol involving resistance exercises. Multi-strain probiotic supplementation for 12 weeks, combined with circuit-training, which involved resistance exercises, improved muscular performance to a similar degree as circuit-training alone in healthy, sedentary males [ 97 ], confirming the positive effects of resistance training on muscular outcomes, which is a result that has been demonstrated by other probiotic and exercise interventions among athletes [ 95 , 96 ]. The effects of probiotic supplementation on muscle strength and power production may be superseded by the effects of the resistance training protocols used by these studies.…”

Probiotic consumption and inflammatory markers in athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Mean age of the participants ranged between 20.1 and 37.9 years. Four studies recruited both gender, [17,20,21,28] nine were conducted only in men, [5,15,16,18,19,22,27,29] and one used female subjects. [4] All the included studies used supplements except for two, [4,17] which used probiotic foods as intervention.…”