ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1586888
The Effect of Probiotic Supplementation Combined with Aerobic Exercise on the Antioxidant Capacity of College Students
Provisionally accepted
- 1Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
- 2Department of Exercise Physiology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
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This study examined the effects of probiotic supplementation alone or combined with aerobic exercise on antioxidant capacity and oxidative stress after highintensity interval exercise (HIIE) in college students. Thirty male college students were divided into three groups: control (C), probiotic (P), and combined probiotic and exercise (PE). The six-week intervention involved moderate-intensity cycling three times a week.All participants underwent a single session of HIIE protocol. The tests for maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max), elimination rate of lactic acid (ER), blood oxidative stress markers, and blood rheology were performed. A decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was observed at baseline in the P and PE groups (P<0.01), while significantly increased glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and reduced catalase activity were found in the PE group (P<0.05). In the P and PE groups, SOD activity (P<0.01) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) level (P<0.01) were significantly elevated after HIIE. The T-AOC level significantly increased from 0.47±0.03 umol Trolox/mL to 0.78±0.07 umol Trolox/mL in the P group and from 0.56±0.04 umol Trolox/mL to 0.82±0.05 umol Trolox/mL in the PE group. The 8-OHdG level increased significantly in both the C and P groups (P<0.05), but remained unchanged in the PE group after the intervention. High shear rate whole blood viscosity was significantly decreased in the P and PE groups (P<0.05). Additionally, a notable decline in plasma viscosity was observed in the PE Probiotics, Exercise, and Antioxidants 2 group. After the intervention, medium and high shear rate whole blood viscosity levels (P<0.05) were significantly lower in the PE group than in the C group, and plasma viscosity was dropped by 28.64% (P<0.05). Following the intervention, a significant elevation in VO2max was only observed in the PE group from 38.14±3.11 to 44.5±2.94 mL/kg/min (P<0.05), with a subsequent increase in ER detected after HIIE (P<0.05).These findings indicate that combining probiotics with aerobic exercise enhances antioxidant and aerobic capacity more effectively than probiotics alone.
Keywords: Probiotics, aerobic exercise, Oxidative Stress, antioxidant capacity, High-intensity interval training
Received: 03 Mar 2025; Accepted: 19 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Chen, Zhao, Liu and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
zhe Chen Liu, Department of Exercise Physiology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
Wei Jiang, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
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