Yeast Beta-Glucan Supplementation Mitigates Inflammation Associated with Heated Treadmill Exercise

by | Jun 4, 2020 | 2020, Fiber, Fitness and Exercise

Written by Joyce Smith, BS. A 13-day supplementation with 250 mg of yeast-derived beta-glucans reduced cytokine markers of inflammation following a prolonged bout of heated treadmill exercise.

fitness and exerciseExercise during intense heat can cause gastrointestinal distress and when coupled with immune cell activation 1, can increase one’s susceptibility to upper respiratory tract infections. In addition, the occurrence of exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) with muscle pain and inflammation and reduced muscle function may interfere with exercise training and performance 2. EIMD and inflammation incites a cellular response of proinflammatory cytokines 3 which is followed by a phase of muscle repair 4.  Nutritional interventions have been proposed to counteract the damaging effects of exercise on immune function 5. Yeast, fungi, and oats contain beta-glucans, a group of soluble β-D-glucose polysaccharides (sugars) that occur naturally in the cell walls of cereals, bacteria, and fungi, and may offer an immunoregulatory function. They are soluble fibers that can avoid absorption in the small intestine and support tissue regeneration through their strong anti-inflammatory activity. 6 Bakers yeast beta-glucan has been shown to prevent the onset of colds and other infections in marathon runners 7, even when cycling during heat and humidity 8. The following study was conducted to examine whether supplementation with yeast beta-glucan can regulate the exercise-induced immunosuppression, muscle damage, muscle function, and mood states that may occur after an extended bout of treadmill exercise in a hot and humid environment.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study 9, 31 healthy men (n=16) and women (n=15) were randomly allocated to receive either 250 mg /day of yeast beta-glucan (YBG) or maltodextrin placebo for 13 days . Participants were 18- 50 years of age and reported exercising at least twice per week within the last 12 months. Eighteen of the 31 participants met the final inclusion requirement of achieving a peak aerobic capacity (VO2Peak) between the 50th and 80th percentile for their age and gender 10, while the remaining three participants had VO2Peak values within 1.5 mL/kg/min of the established cutoff values.

Participants, having fasted, ran on a treadmill at 55% (VO2Peak) under hot (99 degree F =37.2 degrees centigrade) and humid conditions (45.2% humidity). At baseline (0), 2 and 72 hours after exercise completion, changes in white blood cell counts, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, markers of muscle damage, markers of muscle function, soreness, and profile of mood states (POMS) were assessed. A washout period of 14-21 days separated the two phases of this cross-over study.

Supplementing with 250 mg of the yeast beta-glucan for 13 days led to significant reductions in markers of inflammation after the heated treadmill exercise. Macrophage inflammatory protein MIP-1ß had the greatest reduction (P=0.044), followed by interleukin 8 (IL-8) (p = 0.079), and monocyte chemoattractment protein 1 (MCP-1) (p = 0.095), while there was a trend for improvements in TNF-α (P=0.085). POMS outcomes changed across time with anger scores in the placebo group exhibiting a sharper decline than YBG (p = 0.04). Vigor scores (p = 0.04) in YBG remained stable while scores in the placebo group were significantly reduced 72 h after exercise compared to their pre-exercise values.

Study limitations include a small number pf participants and lack of adequate time points between 24 and 48 hours post exercise. Zabriskie and team recommend more research into how YBG impacts mood when exercising during intense heat and humidity and suggest that future studies assess more frequent mood intervals during and after exercise.

Source: Zabriskie, Hannah A., Julia C. Blumkaitis, Jessica M. Moon, Bradley S. Currier, Riley Stefan, Kayla Ratliff, Patrick S. Harty et al. “Yeast Beta-Glucan Supplementation Down regulates Markers of Systemic Inflammation after Heated Treadmill Exercise.” Nutrients 12, no. 4 (2020): 1144.

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Posted June 4, 2020.

Joyce Smith, BS, is a degreed laboratory technologist. She received her bachelor of arts with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology from  the University of Saskatchewan and her internship through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Bloomingdale, IL.

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