Effects of 24-week prebiotic intervention on self-reported upper respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, and markers of immunity in elite rugby union players

Parker, C, Hunter, KA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0743-9724, Johnson, MA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8226-9438, Sharpe, GR ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4575-2332, Gibson, GR, Walton, GE, Poveda, C, Cousins, B and Williams, NC ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2607-4572, 2023. Effects of 24-week prebiotic intervention on self-reported upper respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, and markers of immunity in elite rugby union players. European Journal of Sport Science, 23 (11), pp. 2232-2239. ISSN 1746-1391

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Abstract

Objectives: Elite rugby union players face numerous physiological and psychological stressors which can increase upper respiratory and gastrointestinal illness risk, and in turn can compromise training and competitive performance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of daily prebiotic supplementation on upper respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, and markers of immune function in elite rugby union players.

Methods: Thirty-three elite rugby union players were randomly assigned to consume a prebiotic (2.8 g/day galactooligosaccharide) or placebo (2.8 g/day maltodextrin), daily for 168 days under double-blind conditions. Participants completed daily and weekly questionnaires for self-reported upper respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms respectively. Blood and saliva samples were collected at 0, 84, and 168 days for assessment of plasma TNF-α and CRP, and saliva IgA respectively.

Results: The prebiotic group experienced a 2-day reduction in upper respiratory symptom duration (P = 0.045). Gastrointestinal symptom severity and incidence were lower in the prebiotic group compared to the placebo group (P < 0.001, P = 0.041) respectively. Salivary immunoglobulin A secretion rate was 42% greater in the prebiotic group compared to the placebo group at day 168 (P = 0.004), no differences in CRP and TNF-α were found (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: A 168-day dietary prebiotic intervention reduced the duration of upper respiratory symptoms and reduced the incidence and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms in elite rugby union players. These findings suggest that seasonal prebiotic interventions may be beneficial for reducing illness in elite rugby union players, improving their availability to train and compete.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	European Journal of Sport Science
Creators:	Parker, C., Hunter, K.A., Johnson, M.A., Sharpe, G.R., Gibson, G.R., Walton, G.E., Poveda, C., Cousins, B. and Williams, N.C.
Publisher:	Informa UK Limited
Date:	2023
Volume:	23
Number:	11
ISSN:	1746-1391
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/17461391.2023.2216657 DOI 1832100 Other
Rights:	This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the AcceptedManuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	07 Nov 2023 08:28
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 08:28
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/50287

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