Probiotics and the Warfighter

Photo By Megan Mudersbach | Dr. Richard Agans, molecular biologist and microbiologist supporting the Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton’s (NAMRU-Dayton) Environmental Health Effects Laboratory (EHEL) is lead investigator on a recently published study on behalf of the Tri-Service Microbiome Consortium. The study looked at the potential impacts of probiotic supplementation among service personnel.  

DAYTON, OH, UNITED STATES

01.05.2021

Story by Megan Mudersbach 

Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton

By: Dr. Richard Agans

Humans are a complex system and home to trillions of microscopic organisms. Unique microbial communities are found all across our skin, mouths, lungs, ears, throughout our gastrointestinal tract, and more. These communities contain bacteria, fungi, and viruses all living together in a balance with their human host. In fact, humans have evolved so much that we have developed two-way communication and reliance with our microbial passengers. Bacteria are the predominant members of these communities and are of interest to researchers looking to understand just how important a role they play in our well-being.

In recent years, scientists have learned a great deal about human-inhabiting bacteria, especially those within the gastrointestinal tract, which is home to over 1,000 different bacterial species. They help us metabolize the foods we eat, they fight against disease causing microbes, communicate with our immune system to help it recognize good from bad, and provide us with a number of compounds that our bodies need. In fact, if this community changes (loss of certain species or addition of pathogens) it can lead to negative physical and mental consequences. There are many different ways to perturb this bacterial community, many of which our service members are regularly exposed to.

The Tri-Service Microbiome Consortium (TSMC) aims to understand this complex microbial world and how it impacts military operations and personnel. Recently the TSMC was tasked to address concerns over recent increase in probiotic supplementation among service personnel, assess any potential impacts, good or bad, and report on potential operational applications. The team is comprised of scientific experts from the Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton (NAMRU-Dayton)’s Environmental Health Effects Laboratory, Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Soldier Performance Optimization Directorate, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Air Force Research Laboratory, 711th Human Performance Wing, Military Nutrition Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

Over the course of eight months, the TSMC reviewed 150 reports and studies focusing on probiotic use in healthy populations and impacts to health and performance, specifically exercise performance, muscle-damage, training stress-induced respiratory and gastrointestinal immune modulations, mood, emotion, anxiety, depression, attention, stress, and wound healing. Of the data collected, we published a report in the peer review journal Frontiers in Nutrition. The report acknowledges that there is quite a bit of data suggesting the potential for certain probiotic strains to induce biophysiological changes that may offer physical and/or cognitive health and performance benefits in this population.

Our main findings identified the existence of many knowledge gaps whereby health and performance effects were generally not consistent across studies or widespread among the probiotic strains examined. Beneficial findings were generally limited to single studies with small sample sizes. General benefits were seen where probiotic administration appeared to help protect in cases of respiratory disease.

Ultimately, we concluded that there is not significant evidence to support the use of probiotics to promote performance enhancements in healthy service members. However, the plausibility for health and performance benefits remains, and additional research is warranted. The TSMC recommends future standardized research efforts in military cohorts that will aid in assessing the true potential of probiotics for enhancement of physical and psychological health performance of the warfighter.

Reference:
Agans Richard T., Giles Grace E., Goodson Michael S., Karl J. Philip, Leyh Samantha, Mumy Karen L., Racicot Kenneth, Soares Jason W. Evaluation of Probiotics for Warfighter Health and Performance. Frontiers in Nutrition Vol.7, 2020. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnut.2020.00070

• Date Taken: 01.05.2021
• Date Posted: 01.05.2021 17:08
• Story ID: 386469
• Location: DAYTON, OH, US