Super Probiotic Found Inside World's Strongest Woman

Exercise scientists from the National Taiwan Sport University have discovered a super bacterium called Bifidobacterium longum OLP-01 in the belly of the strongest woman in the world.

Wei-Ling Chen
In 2008, Taiwanese weightlifter Wei-Ling Chen won bronze at the Beijing Olympics. That later became gold, after a doping lab found GHRP-2 in the urine of gold medalist, and stanozolol in the urine of the silver medalist.

Wei-Ling Chen weighs 48 kilos, and squats 210 kilos and deadlifts 185 kilos. She is a trainer and coach at National Taiwan Sport University, [YouTube] and co-authored the study this posting is about.

Animal study
The first generation of probiotics mainly come from fermented foods, but life science companies are now shifting their attention to probiotics that they have found in exceptionally healthy or fit people. [Benef Microbes. 2018 Dec 7;9(6):843-53.] [Sci Rep. 2018 Aug 23;8(1):12649.]

The Taiwanese discovered an interesting bacterium in the belly of Wei-Ling Chen - Bifidobacterium longum OLP-01. The lab of the Taiwanese company Glac Biotech [glact.com.tw] grew the bacterium, and provided the researchers with supplements. The researchers gave the organism to mice for 4 weeks in daily amounts of 0 CFU / kg [Vehicle], 2.05 x 109 CFU/kg [OLP-01-1X], 4.10 x 109 CFU/kg [OLP-01-2X] or 1.03 x 1010 CFU kg [OLP-01-5X].

Glac Biotech did not sponsor the study.

Results
When the 4 weeks were over, the researchers determined how much grip strength the mice could develop in their front claws. And yes, this was greater the more probiotics the animals had received. Click on the figure below for a larger version.









In another exercise test, the researchers got the mice to swim until they literally could no longer. The more Bifidobacterium longum OLP-01 the mice received, the greater their endurance. You see that above.

After intensive physical exertion, supplementation with the probiotic ensured that there were fewer pieces of broken down protein [BUN] and less creatine kinase [CK] in the mice's blood [first figure below]. This indicates less muscle breakdown.

After physical exertion, supplementation also resulted in less high concentrations of ammonia but a higher concentration of glucose [second figure below]. That indicates less fatigue.









Click on the figures for a larger version.

Safety
"We also observed the safety of Bifidobacterium longum OLP-01 in 4 weeks or supplementation in mice", write the Taiwanese. "Serum metabolic markers, including liver and renal function tests, were found to be within the normal range, even after several exercise challenges."

"In pathological sections, we also did not detect any gross abnormalities or obvious lesions in the various tissues and organs."

Conclusion
"Taken together, we believe that supplementation with Bifidobacterium longum OLP-01 improves gastrointestinal symptoms, accelerates recovery fatigue, and improves exercise performance, and should not lead to any safety concerns."

Source:
Nutrients. 2019 Aug 24;11(9).