Oral bacteriotherapy is associated with decreased blood lactate concentration during exercise at high altitude
Authors: Ochoa Timothy , Yu James J , Moya Esteban A. , Kaya Kiana , Cheng Hunter , Fassardi Sago , Billaut François 
Published: May 2024

Exposure to high altitude leads to decreased oxygen saturation (SpO2) and, in some individuals, the development of adverse outcomes such as acute high-altitude sickness. A further decrease in oxygen availability during exercise at altitude leads to greater anaerobic metabolism and increased lactate production. Previous studies show that ingestion of the probiotic SLAB51 (O2BOOSTER; Hecto, Seoul, South Korea) improved SpO2 in individuals exercising in a hypobaric chamber (simulated altitude 16,732 ft (~5100 m) above sea level) compared to individuals who did not ingest the probiotic. However, the use of SLAB51 during exercise at high terrestrial altitude has yet to be studied. We hypothesized that individuals who ingest SLAB51, relative to those given a placebo, will exhibit less of a difference in lactate production during sub-maximal exercise when paired high-altitude and sea-level values pre- and post-exercise are compared. We recruited 17 participants of Latino ancestry, ages 19-63 years, for studies at sea level (University of California, San Diego) and at high altitude (University of California White Mountain Barcroft Research Station, 3801 m). At sea level and on the third or fourth day at high altitude, we measured SpO2 and heart rate (HR) via pulse oximetry (forehead probe) before and during the last 30 seconds of a 10-minute submaximal (1 watt/kg) bout of exercise on a cycle ergometer (n = 5 for each group). Blood lactate concentration was measured before and after exercise from fingertip capillary blood samples. The respective differences between SpO2 and HR pre-exercise and during the final 30 seconds of exercise (the ΔSpO2 and ΔHR) were calculated for all individuals. The Δlactate blood concentration was calculated by the difference between lactate pre- and post-exercise. ΔSpO2, ΔHR, and Δlactate values were computed for sea level and high altitude. The difference between the respective sea-level Δ and the high-altitude Δ values were quantified for each measurement and compared between the groups who received either SLAB51 or the placebo upon arrival, and the same treatment for three days at high altitude. As expected, exercise increased HR and blood lactate concentration at sea level and high altitude and decreased SpO2 at high altitude. The difference of Δlactate between sea level and high altitude was lower (p = 0.023) in the SLAB51 (n = 4, 0.93 ± 0.18 mmol/L) versus placebo (n = 4, 1.63 ± 0.13 mmol/L) group. However, there were no significant differences of ΔSpO2 and ΔHR between groups. Our findings show that taking SLAB51 could lower the production of lactate during submaximal exercise at high altitude. This means that anaerobic glycolysis may play a smaller role in energy production when the probiotic is taken compared to the placebo. To further understand the influence of SLAB51 as a supplement on exercise performance at altitude, more research with a bigger sample size is necessary. Supported by LEA Altitude Performance Fund. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.