Effects Of Beta-glucan Supplementation On Muscle Strength In Athletes

Background:Muscle strength is a key factor in maintaining exercise performance in athletes.Nutrition supplementation is an important means to maintain and enhance muscle strength,such as whey protein,creatine,glutamine,and L-carnitine.Recently,new research has revealed that dietary fiber intake is significantly positively associated with muscle mass and muscle strength.Among them,β-glucan is the most common dietary fiber,and many studies have shown that it has health benefits such as lowering blood glucose and blood lipids,improving intestinal health,enhancing immunity,and improving skeletal muscle function.However,whether supplementation with beta-glucan can improve muscle strength in athletes is unclear.Purpose:This study aims to explore the effect ofβ-glucan supplementation on muscle strength,and discuss the effects ofβ-glucan on body fat,blood lipids,immunity and other indicators before and after the intervention.The athletes are the research subjects.The impact ofβ-glucan on health provides the evidence for developing the new healthy muscle strength-enhancing supplementation.Methods:Human trials:A total of 29 athletes who met the inclusion criteria were recruited and randomly divided into the experimental group（n=15）and the control group（n=14）.Before the start of the trial,both groups received two 1-hour health talks.During the trial period,the experimental group receivedβ-glucan supplementation（2g/dβ-glucan）for 4 weeks,while the control group received an equal dose of placebo supplementation（0g/dβ-glucan）.Both groups maintained regular diet and exercise habits during the trial period.Main outcomes indicators included:muscle strength:handgrip strength,deltoid strength,biceps strength,triceps strength,quadriceps strength;muscle mass:total lean body mass,upper extremity lean mass,lower extremity lean mass,trunk lean mass,Android＿lean mass,Gynoid＿lean mass.Secondary outcomes indicators included:endurance performance:1min double shake,maximum oxygen consumption(VO_2max);immune indicators:interleukin-6（IL-6）,immunoglobulin M（Ig M）,tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）,C-reactive protein（CRP）;fat mass:body fat percentage,total fat mass,upper body fat mass,lower body fat mass,trunk fat mass,Android＿fat mass,Gynoid＿fat mass;four blood lipids:triglyceride（TG）,cholesterol（CHOL）,high density lipoprotein cholesterol（HDL-C）,low density lipoprotein cholesterol（LDL-C）.Cell trials:C2C12 cells were taken as the research object,and they were divided into control group andβ-glucan group.After 24 hours,the m RNA expressions of cell differentiation factor MYOD1,muscle atrophy factor FBXO32 and TRIM63 were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.Results:During the research process,2 individuals dropped out.Finally,the control group and experimental group were included in 13 and 14 individuals,respectively.In total,the data of 27 individuals were analyzed.1.Muscle strengthCompared with pre-intervention,the average handgrip strength（kg）,right handgrip strength（kg）,left triceps muscle strength（kg）,and upper limb muscle mass（kg）in the experimental group increased significantly（p<0.05）after 4-week intervention.Muscle strength and muscle mass were no significant differences in these 2 groups.The comparison of the changes between the two groups showed that there were significant differences in the average handgrip strength（kg）and right handgrip strength（kg）between the control group and the experimental group（p<0.05）.Compared with pre-intervention,the 1-min double-shake（pieces）and VO_2max（ml/kg·min）of the athletes in the experimental group were significantly improved（p<0.05）after 4-week intervention.Meanwhile,there was no significant difference in the control group.The comparison of the changes between the two groups showed that there was no significant difference between these two groups.2.Endurance performanceCompared with pre-intervention,the 1-min double-shake（pieces）and VO_2max（ml/kg·min）of the athletes in the experimental group were significantly improved（p<0.05）,while there was no significant difference in the control group after 4-week intervention.The comparison of the changes showed that there was no significant difference between these two groups.3.Immune functionCompared with pre-intervention,the concentration of serum TNF-α（pg/m L）in the experimental group significantly decreased（p<0.05）after 4-week intervention,and there was no significant change in the control group.4.Four items of body fat content and blood lipidsCompared with pre-intervention,the body fat percentage（%）,total fat mass（kg）,upper body fat mass（kg）,lower body fat mass（kg）,trunk fat mass（kg）,Android＿fat mass（kg）,Gynoid＿fat mass（kg）,TG（mmol/L）,CHOL（mmol/L）,HDL-C（mmol/L）,LDL-C（mmol/L）were no significant differences after 4-week intervention.The comparison of the changes between these two groups showed that there were no significant differences in all fat content and blood lipids between the control group and the experimental group.Conclusion:4-week beta-glucan supplementation improves muscle strength for athletes.At the same time,it has the potential to improve endurance performance and enhance immune function for athletes.It provides a new idea for developing a new healthy sports nutrition supplement in athletes.