Excessive training may limit physiological muscle adaptation through chronic oxidative stress and inflammation. Improper diet and overtraining may also disrupt intestinal homeostasis and in consequence enhance inflammation. Altogether, these factors may lead to an imbalance in the gut ecosystem, causing dysregulation of the immune system. Therefore, it seems to be important to optimize the intestinal microbiota composition, which is able to modulate the immune system and reduce oxidative stress. Moreover, the optimal intestinal microbiota composition may have an impact on muscle protein synthesis and mitochondrial biogenesis and function, as well as muscle glycogen storage. Aproperly balanced microbiome may also reduce inflammatory markers and reactive oxygen species production, which may further attenuate macromolecules damage. Consequently, supplementation with probiotics may have some beneficial effect on aerobic and anaerobic performance. The phenomenon of gut-muscle axis should be continuously explored to function maintenance, not only in athletes.
Keywords: athletes; gut microbiota; gut-muscle axis; muscle functions.