Effects of Probiotics and Vitamin D3 Supplementation on Sports Performance Markers in Male Mixed Martial Arts Athletes: A Randomized Trial

Katarzyna Przewłócka; Sylwester Kujach; Piotr Sawicki; Paweł Berezka; Zofia Kinga Bytowska; Marcin Folwarski; Kondrat Kowalski; Jan Jacek Kaczor

doi:10.1186/s40798-023-00576-6

Effects of Probiotics and Vitamin D₃ Supplementation on Sports Performance Markers in Male Mixed Martial Arts Athletes: A Randomized Trial

Sports Med Open. 2023 May 16;9(1):31. doi: 10.1186/s40798-023-00576-6.

Authors

Katarzyna Przewłócka¹, Sylwester Kujach^{2

3}, Piotr Sawicki⁴, Paweł Berezka⁵, Zofia Kinga Bytowska¹, Marcin Folwarski⁶, Kondrat Kowalski⁷, Jan Jacek Kaczor^{8

9

9}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Bioenergetics and Exercise Physiology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
² Department of Physiology, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Gorskiego 1, 80-336, Gdańsk, Poland.
³ Department of Human Physiology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Tuwima 15, 80-210, Gdańsk, Poland.
⁴ Department of Gymnastics and Dance, Faculty of Physical Education, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Gorskiego 1, 80-336, Gdańsk, Poland.
⁵ Department of Animal and Human Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308, Gdańsk, Poland.
⁶ Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210, Gdańsk, Poland.
⁷ Masdiag Laboratory, 01-882, Warsaw, Poland.
⁸ Division of Bioenergetics and Exercise Physiology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland. jan.kaczor@ug.edu.pl.
⁹ Department of Animal and Human Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308, Gdańsk, Poland. jan.kaczor@ug.edu.pl.

Abstract

Background: Strategies targeted at the intestine microbiome seem to be beneficial for professional athletes. The gut-muscle axis is associated with the inflammatory state, glucose metabolism, mitochondrial function, and central nervous system health. All these mechanisms may affect maximal oxygen uptake, muscle strength, and training adaptation. Moreover, the positive effect of certain bacterial strains may be enhanced by vitamin D. Thus, this study aimed to assess and compare the level of selected markers of sports performance of mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes supplemented with vitamin D₃ or probiotics combined with vitamin D₃.

Methods: A 4-week randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted with 23 MMA male athletes assigned to the vitamin D₃ group (Vit D; n = 12) or probiotics + vitamin D₃ group (PRO + VitD; n = 11). Repeated measures of the creatine kinase level, lactate utilization ratio, and anaerobic performance were conducted.

Results: After 4 weeks of supplementation, we found lower lactate concentrations 60 min after the acute sprint interval in the PRO + VitD group when compared to the Vit D group (4.73 ± 1.62 and 5.88 ± 1.55 mmol/L; p < 0.05). In addition, the intervention improved the total work (232.00 ± 14.06 and 240.72 ± 13.38 J kg^-1; p < 0.05), and mean power following the anaerobic exercise protocol (7.73 ± 0.47 and 8.02 ± 0.45 W kg^-1; p < 0.05) only in the PRO + VitD group. Moreover, there was an improvement in the lactate utilization ratio in the PRO + VitD group compared with the Vit D group as shown by the percentage of T60/T3 ratio (73.6 ± 6.9 and 65.1 ± 9.9%, respectively; p < 0.05). We also observed elevated serum 25(OH)D₃ concentrations after acute sprint interval exercise in both groups, however, there were no significant differences between the groups.

Conclusion: Four weeks of combined probiotic and vitamin D₃ supplementation enhanced lactate utilization and beneficially affected anaerobic performance in MMA athletes.

Keywords: Anaerobic capacity; LA utilization; MMA; Probiotics; Supramaximal sprints; Vitamin D3.