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Bifidobacterium breve B3, a probiotic for your muscles?
Researchers at the Japanese dairy company Morinaga Milk Industry have discovered that the probiotic bacterium Bifidobacterium breve B3 can strengthen muscles, at least according to tests conducted on animals; the thing is, in a way that is not clear, the bacterium activates anabolic signaling molecules in muscle cells.
The company is already adding the probiotic Bifidobacterium breve B3 to its dairy products, but Western consumers who wish to use the probiotic bacterium depend on supplements that include it among their ingredients. However, practically everything we know about the properties of this probiotic is based on research conducted by the Japanese.
The benefits of Bifidobacterium breve B3
The probiotic Bifidobacterium breve B3 (B-3), a probiotic strain originating in an infant’s intestine, has been shown to exert anti-obesity effects through mechanisms related to improved intestinal barrier function; production of adiponectin and colonic proglucagon; and the production of probiotic-derived metabolites with anti-obesity activity (e.g., acetic acids and conjugated linoleic acids).
Accumulating evidence has indicated that the gut microbiota is associated with host health conditions in numerous ways, including through energy metabolism and mitochondrial function. In addition, the communication pathway between the gut microbiota and skeletal muscle, that is, the gut-muscle axis, has been widely studied, and it has been suggested that microbiota composition and the intestinal environment influence muscle mass and function, possibly through changes in microbiota composition and function, immune function, energy metabolism, and oxidative stress.
The mechanism of Bifidobacterium breve B3
To develop analyses of the power of the probiotic Bifidobacterium breve B3, the researchers fed their rodents the strain or other compounds, including the B-3L and B3-K versions, comparing the observations with an unsupplemented control group and another group that received 1 millimole of leucine per kg/day 6 days a week for 4 weeks.
When the experiments ended, the rodents that had received Bifidobacterium breve B3 had slightly more muscle than the other animals, which performed the same physical activity; interestingly, this trend was statistically significant only for the soleus muscle.
- In the soleus muscles of the supplemented rodents, the anabolic signaling molecule Akt had been activated.
- The probiotic had no effect on the mTOR pathway, but it did affect the Akt and AMPK pathways.
The specific point of the study was that over 2 or 4 weeks, muscle strength increased specifically for the two B3 versions of the probiotic; it was also noted that the effect of supplementation did not appear to increase as the intervention lasted longer. Ultimately, these findings may contribute to understanding the mechanism behind the anti-obesity effects of Bifidobacterium breve B3 and suggest its potential benefits for improving physical fitness and alleviating physical fatigue and muscle atrophy, particularly by improving body composition.