Chronic Consumption of Cocoa Rich in Procyanidins Has a Marginal Impact on Gut Microbiota and on Serum and Fecal Metabolomes in Male Endurance Athletes

Cocoa is used in the sports world as a supplement, although there is no consensus on its use. We investigated the effect of cocoa intake on intestinal ischemia (intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP)), serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels, gastrointestinal symptoms, and gut microbiota in endurance athletes during their training period on an unrestricted diet. We also performed a metabolomics analysis of serum and feces after a bout of exercise before and after supplementation. Cocoa consumption had no effect on I-FABP, LPS, or gastrointestinal symptoms. Cocoa intake significantly increased the abundance of Blautia and Lachnospira genera and decreased the abundance of the Agathobacter genus, which was accompanied by elevated levels of polyphenol fecal metabolites 4-hydroxy-5-(phenyl)-valeric acid and O-methyl-epicatechin-O-glucuronide. Our untargeted approach revealed that cocoa had no significant effects on serum and fecal metabolites and that its consumption had little impact on the metabolome after a bout of physical exercise.

可可在体育领域常被用作运动补剂，但其在该领域的应用尚未形成统一共识。本研究针对处于无限制饮食训练周期的耐力运动员，探究了可可摄入对肠缺血相关指标[肠型脂肪酸结合蛋白（I-FABP）]、血清脂多糖（LPS）水平、胃肠道症状以及肠道菌群的影响。此外，本研究还在补剂干预前后的单次运动后，对受试者的血清与粪便样本开展了代谢组学分析。结果显示，可可摄入对I-FABP、LPS水平及胃肠道症状无显著影响；可可摄入可显著提升布劳特氏菌属（Blautia）与毛螺菌属（Lachnospira）的丰度，并降低阿加特杆菌属（Agathobacter）的丰度，同时伴随粪便多酚代谢物4-羟基-5-（苯基）戊酸与O-甲基表儿茶素-O-葡萄糖醛酸苷水平的升高。本研究采用的非靶向代谢组学分析方法表明，可可摄入对血清与粪便代谢物无显著影响，且单次运动后可可摄入对代谢组的影响微弱。