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Can microbes increase exercise performance in athletes?

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Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been suggested to be a therapeutic strategy for inflammatory diseases and it is known that regular physical activity can alter the composition of the gut microbiota. Now, a study proposes that FMT might increase exercise performance in athletes, raising the possibility of ‘faecal doping’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    Sarah M. Turpin-Nolan & Mark A. Febbraio

  2. Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Michael J. Joyner

Authors
  1. Sarah M. Turpin-Nolan
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  2. Michael J. Joyner
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  3. Mark A. Febbraio
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark A. Febbraio.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Turpin-Nolan, S.M., Joyner, M.J. & Febbraio, M.A. Can microbes increase exercise performance in athletes?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 15, 629–630 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0250-2

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