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Bacteria of the Veillonella genus are specialists in breaking down lactic acid, which causes muscle fatigue. Marathon runners harbor large populations in their intestines. Would transplanting them to athletes who do not have them increase their athletic performance? Perhaps we are on the verge of microbiomic doping through fecal microbiota transplantation.
The present
Is it possible to improve sports performance by acting on the microbiome? The conclusions reached by a recently published study that has found a common pattern in the intestinal bacterial flora of marathon runners point in this direction. Specifically, a high population of bacteria that break down lactic acid that, when accumulated in the muscles, causes fatigue.
So far, nothing unexpected or surprising, given that it was already known that exercise can affect and alter the microbial flora.
But what is truly relevant is that, when one of these Veillonella strains was isolated from athletes and introduced into mice, they exhibited a significant increase in their physical resistance against untreated congeners. The reason, as the researchers found, seems to be that this bacteria is capable of very effectively degrading lactic acid, which is responsible for muscle fatigue.
The above leads us to think that sports performance can be improved by acting on the microbiome. However, the scientific community emphasizes that it is a preliminary, very limited research, and that it is essential to carry out new research before establishing a definitive conclusion, while warning that acting on the microbiome is very risky considering how little What we know about it and the delicate balance that exists between the different and numerous communities that make it up; Any slight modification can cause side effects. Despite this, there are already laboratories and entities that have started lines of research to develop probiotic supplements that increase sports performance.
