Probiotics for performance may be strain specific 🦠
Which probiotic strain are you using?
Effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum supplementation on exercise performance and recovery: a systematic review and narrative synthesis
Study Details
This new systematic review of 12 studies (446 participants) examined whether different Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strains including…
👉 TWK10
👉 PS128
👉 PL-02
…can improve exercise performance and recovery 🔍
Here are the key findings ⬇️
Key Findings
The effects of L. plantarum were highly strain-specific, meaning findings cannot be generalised across all probiotic products 🧬
TWK10 showed the most consistent evidence for improving aerobic endurance 🏃
⏱️ Four of five TWK10 trials reported longer time to exhaustion, with increases of approximately 1.24–1.58-fold versus placebo
📈 Higher TWK10 doses produced greater endurance benefits, with effective protocols generally providing at least 3 × 10¹⁰ CFU/day for 6-weeks
🧪 TWK10 accelerated the clearance of lactate and ammonia during exercise and recovery
🔥 TWK10 appeared to support metabolic recovery rather than directly reducing structural muscle damage or inflammation
💊 Heat-inactivated TWK10 retained many of the endurance and metabolic benefits of the live probiotic
🫀 However, improvements in time to exhaustion did not consistently coincide with increases in VO₂max
PS128 acted primarily as a recovery-focused strain rather than a consistent direct performance enhancer 🛡️
🦵 PS128 reduced post-exercise losses in knee strength and helped preserve countermovement-jump performance after a half-marathon
📉 PS128 reduced creatine kinase and myoglobin responses, suggesting less exercise-induced muscle damage
🔥 PS128 lowered TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 while increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in triathletes
⚡ PS128 also preserved neuromuscular function after endurance exercise, including electromyographic activity and neural drive
🚴 PS128 improved aerobic and anaerobic performance in some competitive triathletes, but benefits were not replicated in recreational runners
PL-02 reduced creatine kinase and IL-6 after muscle-damaging exercise, but did not clearly improve endurance, power or strength 🧫
❌ Products using unspecified L. plantarum strains did not produce consistent performance or recovery benefits
🦠 TWK10, PS128 and PL-02 altered gut bacteria and increased several short-chain-fatty-acid-producing species, although these changes were only associated with (not proven to cause) the performance effects
Interesting findings however, evidence quality was moderate, with small samples, and varied protocols ⚠️
Conclusion
It’s a worthwhile consideration at this point that probiotic selection could be based on the exact strain and intended outcome…
🫁 TWK10 for endurance and metabolic recovery
💪 PS128 for muscle and neuromuscular recovery
🔍 PL-02 as an emerging option requiring more research
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42528893/
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