Excessive, high-intensity or inappropriate exercise may cause muscle damage. How to speed up recovery and reduce exercise discomfort are currently very important issues for athletes and sports people. Past research has shown that probiotics can improve inflammation and oxidative stress, as well as improve exercise performance and antifatigue. However, further research is needed to confirm the recovery benefits for muscle damage. In this double-blind design study, all subjects were randomly assigned to placebo, a live Lactobacillus paracasei group (L-PS23, 2 × 10¹⁰ colony forming unit (CFU)/day), or a heat-killed L. paracasei group (HK-PS23, 2 × 10¹⁰ cells/day), and supplemented for six consecutive weeks. Afterwards, subjects completed 100 maximal vertical jumps to bring about exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD). Countermovement jump (CMJ), isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), and Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT), as well as blood tests for markers of muscle damage and inflammation were made pre-exercise and 3, 24, 48 h post exercise. The results show that both L-PS23 and HK-PS23 supplementation significantly slowed the loss of muscle strength after muscle injury, and they significantly reduced the production of markers of muscle damage and inflammation (p < 0.05). In addition, L-PS23 and HK-PS23 had the benefits of accelerating the recovery and improvement of muscle strength, the blood markers of muscle injury and inflammation, and slowing the decline in testosterone concentrations (p < 0.05). Especially in the HK-PS23 supplemented group, there was a better trend. In conclusion, we found that L-PS23 or HK-PS23 supplementation for six weeks prevented strength loss after muscle damage and improved blood muscle damage and inflammatory markers, with protective, accelerated recovery and anti-fatigue benefits.

Resveratrol (RES) has antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, antiasthmatic, antalgic, and anti-fatigue activities. Exercise training (ET) improves frailty resulting from aging. This study evaluated the effects of a combination of RES supplementation and ET on the exercise performance of aged mice. C57BL/6J mice (16 months old) were randomly divided into four groups: an older control group (OC group), supplementation with RES group (RES group), ET group (ET group), and a combination of ET and RES supplementation group (ET+RES group). Other 10-week-old mice were used as a young control group (Y-Ctrl group). In this study, exercise performance was evaluated using forelimb grip strength and exhaustive swimming time, as well as levels of plasma lactate, ammonia, glucose, and creatine kinase after an acute swimming exercise. Our results showed that the forelimb grip strength of mice in the ET+RES group was significantly higher than those in the OC, RES, and ET groups (by 1.3-, 1.2-, and 1.1-fold, respectively, p < 0.05), and exhibited no difference with the Y-Ctrl group. The endurance swimming test showed that swimming times of the ET and ET+RES groups were significantly longer than those of the OC and RES groups. Moreover, plasma lactate and ammonia levels of the ET + RES group after acute swimming exercise were significantly lower compared to the OC group (p < 0.05). Thus, it was suggested that by combining RES supplementation with ET for 4 weeks, the muscle strength and endurance performance of aged mice were significantly improved compared to the single intervention with either RES or ET alone. This combination might help shorten the extent of deterioration accompanying the aging process.

Plyometric exercise (PE) is an effective training method to increase muscle mass and strength. However, excessive or inappropriate conditions might cause exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD). Resveratrol (RES) is a natural polyphenol plant antitoxin, which improves exercise performance, and exhibits anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of RES supplementation on the recovery of muscle damage, inflammation, soreness, muscle power, and anaerobic performance following plyometric-exercise-induced muscle damage (PEIMD). The present study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled research trial. Thirty-six young, untrained males were enrolled into the placebo (n = 12), RES-500 (500 mg RES/day, n = 12), or RES-1000 (1000 mg RES/day, n = 12) group by a jumping height-counterbalanced grouping design. At baseline, to pre-PEIMD, supplements were pre-loaded 7 days before they conducted PEIMD, and the exercise performance, delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and muscle damage biomarkers were measured over the experimental period at baseline, pre-PEIMD, and post-PEIMD at 2, 24, 48, and 72 h. As a result, we found that, at 72 h post-EIMD, the force peak (FP) and rate of force development (RFD) of the counter movement jump (CMJ) in RES groups showed no significant difference compared to that at baseline but was significantly greater than the placebo group. In the Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT), supplementation in the RES group had a better recovery effect on the relative peak power (RPP), relative mean power (RMP) and fatigue index (FI) (p < 0.05), especially in the high-dose group. For the detection of muscle pain after PEIMD, the RES supplement group was significantly better than the placebo group (p < 0.05). In addition, for muscle damage indexes, such as creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), after PEIMD, supplementation with RES could significantly reduce and accelerate recovery (p < 0.05). In addition, the blood biochemical indicators of blood count, liver function, and kidney function showed that RES will not cause adverse risks to the human body. Our results suggest that replenishing RES in advance could effectively reduce muscle pain, increase exercise performance, and decrease muscle damage indicators caused by PEIMD, and the recovery was faster. Therefore, plyometric exercises combined with suitable RES supplementation could be an effective candidate for controlling muscle damage, improving physical adaption, and recovering anaerobic capacity.

Muscle injuries frequently occur in contact sports events. The current treatment options for soft tissue injuries remain suboptimal and often result in delayed or incomplete recovery of damaged muscles. Resveratrol (RES) is a phenolic phytochemical, well-known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of RES supplementation on inflammation and regeneration in skeletal muscle after a contusion injury, in comparison to a conventional treatment of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). After one week of acclimation, forty eight -week-old male ICR mice were randomly divided into the five groups (n=8 per group): 1) normal control (NC), 2) mass-drop injury without any treatment (mass-drop injury, MDI), 3) post-injury NSAID treatment (MDI+ 10mg/kg NSAID), 4) post-injury RES supplementation (MDI+ 25mg/kg/day RES) and 5) post-injury treatment with RES and NSAID (MDI + resveratrol+ NSAID). After muscle contusion injury of the left gastrocnemius muscle, RES or NSAID were orally administered post-injury once a day for 7 days. Results showed that the MDI group had significantly higher serum uric acid (UA), CREA (creatinine), LDH (lactic dehydrogenase) and creatine kinase (CK) than the normal control group. Treatment with resveratrol reduced muscle damage as evidenced by the significantly decreased serum levels of UA, CREA, LDH and CK after contusion-induced muscle injuries in mice. In addition, RES and RES + NSAID groups promoted muscle satellite cell regeneration with increase in desmin protein after injury. Our results suggest that resveratrol combined with NSAID potentially improve muscle recovery and may be a potential candidate for further development as an effective clinical treatment for muscle repair.

Kefir is an acidic, carbonated, and fermented dairy product produced by fermenting milk with kefir grains. The Lactobacillus species constitutes an important part of kefir grains. In a previous animal study, kefir effectively improved exercise performance and had anti-fatigue effects. The purpose of this research was to explore the benefits of applying kefir to improve exercise performance, reduce fatigue, and improve physiological adaptability in humans. The test used a double-blind crossover design and supplementation for 28 days. Sixteen 20–30 year-old subjects were divided into two groups in a balanced order according to each individual’s initial maximal oxygen uptake and were assigned to receive a placebo (equal flavor, equal calories, 20 g/day) or SYNKEFIR™ (20 g/day) every morning. After the intervention, there were 28 days of wash-out, during which time the subjects did not receive further interventions. After supplementation with SYNKEFIR™, the exercise time to exhaustion was significantly greater than that before ingestion (p = 0.0001) and higher than that in the Placebo group by 1.29-fold (p = 0.0004). In addition, compared with the Placebo group, the SYNKEFIR™ administration group had significantly lower lactate levels in the exercise and recovery (p < 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed in the changes in the gut microbiota. Although no significant changes in body composition were found, SYNKEFIR™ did not cause adverse reactions or harm to the participants’ bodies. In summary, 28 days of supplementation with SYNKEFIR™ significantly improved exercise performance, reduced the production of lactic acid after exercise, and accelerated recovery while also not causing any adverse reactions.