Natural products and exercise-induced fatigue: systematic review on gut microbiota modulation
A systematic review of 26 studies — 25 animal, 1 human — identifies the SCFA-AMPK/PGC-1α axis as a shared mechanism across natural anti-fatigue products acting through gut microbiota.
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What the study showed
Enrichment of SCFA-producing bacteria and activation of the SCFA-AMPK/PGC-1α axis were core events common to all product categories examined. Source-dependent mechanistic divergences were identified: polysaccharides function primarily as fermentable substrates with an optimal dose window; polyphenols and saponins exert dual modulation on microbiota and host signaling. The abstract is truncated, preventing full assessment of findings on marine- and animal-derived products.
How it was done
Descriptive systematic review searching PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CNKI; 26 studies included and categorized into seven groups by source and chemical characteristics.
Risk of bias
25 of 26 included studies are animal experiments; extrapolation to humans is speculative. The truncated abstract prevents complete evaluation of all findings. Absence of quantitative meta-analysis limits the strength of conclusions.
What this study does NOT prove
Does not prove that any natural product reduces exercise-induced fatigue in humans through gut microbiota modulation.
In clinical practice
The human evidence base within this review is virtually absent. No clinical recommendations can be safely derived.
Limitations
25 of 26 included studies are animal experiments; extrapolation to humans is speculative. The truncated abstract prevents complete evaluation of all findings. Absence of quantitative meta-analysis limits the strength of conclusions.
Technical appendix
Version history
- 1.0 · 2026-09-08 — Auto-generated under Evidence Standard v1.0
Paid access: structured summary from public metadata; consult the original study at the source.