Major evidence of clinical studies on the triad gut microbiota, ubiquinone and physical exercise: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: In the scenario of sports practices, the human gut microbiota is currently the focus of convergent interest in many diseases and sports performance. Sports performance studies have also shown interesting and promising results. Supplementation with certain antioxidants such as ubiquinone [Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)] is important for physically active individuals to speed recovery from fatigue and prevent exercise damage. Objective: It was to demonstrate the influence of the gut microbiota and ubiquinone on the performance of athletes. Methods: The systematic review rules of the PRISMA Platform were followed. The research was carried out from September to November 2022 in Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, Scielo, and Google Scholar databases. The quality of the studies was based on the GRADE instrument and the risk of bias was analyzed according to the Cochrane instrument. Results and Conclusion: 104 articles were found. A total of 54 articles were evaluated and 27 were included in this systematic review. Considering the Cochrane tool for risk of bias, the overall assessment resulted in 13 studies with a high risk of bias and 27 studies that did not meet GRADE. Most studies showed homogeneity in their results, with X 2 =97.2% >50%. The composition and activity of the gut microbiota are influenced by many different factors, such as diet and physical activity. Cumulative data indicate that gut bacteria are sensitive to modulation by physical activity, as demonstrated by studies using models of training and hypoactivity. Supplementation with the antioxidant Coenzyme Q10 is important for physically active individuals to accelerate recovery from fatigue and prevent damage caused by exercise, in addition to optimizing training and improving sports performance. Clinical studies have shown that in physical fatigue concerning physical exercise, patients have low plasma concentrations of Coenzyme Q10.