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Fulltext What can we learn from the Baduanjin rehabilitation as COVID-19 treatment?: A narrative review

Zhu Z, Pan X, Zhong F, Tian J, Ong MLY

Nurs Open, 2023 May;10(5):2819-2830.
PMID: 36575646 DOI: 10.1002/nop2.1572

AIM: To understand Baduanjin rehabilitation therapy in mild COVID-19 patients.
DESIGN: A narrative review.
METHODS: A literature search for COVID-19 and Baduanjin treatments was conducted on Chinese and English electronic databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Ebscohost, SPORTDiscus and ProQuest.
RESULTS: Twelve studies on the Baduanjin rehabilitation for COVID-19 patients have been included. We acknowledged the considerable published research and current clinical practice using Baduanjin for COVID-19 treatment in the following areas: anxiety, depression, insomnia, lung function rehabilitation, immunity and activity endurance.
CONCLUSION: The use of Baduanjin as adjuvant therapy for COVID-19 patients' rehabilitation is still limited, therefore, more clinical studies are needed to confirm its efficacy.
A gutsy performance: the potential for supplementation of short-chain fatty acids to benefit athletic health, exercise performance, and recovery

Ong MLY, Green CG, Bongiovanni T, Heaney LM

Benef Microbes, 2023 Dec 12;14(6):565-590.
PMID: 38350483 DOI: 10.1163/18762891-20230069

The gut microbiome is known to play an important role in the day-to-day physiology and health of the human host. It is, therefore, not surprising that there is interest surrounding the gut microbiome and its potential to benefit athletic health and performance. This has, in part, been driven by the consideration that gut bacterial by-products (i.e. metabolic waste) could be harnessed by the host and utilised for a beneficial outcome. The concept of harnessing bacterial metabolites as beneficial health modulators has developed the theory of leveraging short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as novel supplements for enhancing athletic performance. This review discusses the current literature investigating SCFA administration in cellular, animal, and human models, with the aim of linking the demonstrated physiological/biochemical mechanisms to potential exercise/athletic benefit. In addition, practical implications and factors relating to SCFA-supplementation in athletic populations are considered. The literature demonstrates a tangible rationale that SCFAs can have a positive impact on human physiology to afford benefits to the athletic population. These advantages include the capacity to improve respiratory immunity to combat elevated levels/severity of upper respiratory tract infections often reported in athletes; the blunting of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic pathways to aid in exercise recovery; and the role of SCFAs as usable energy sources and metabolism modulators to fuel exercise and improve performance and/or endurance capacity. However, there is currently minimal research completed in human participants and thus further investigations into the direct benefit of SCFAs in exercise performance and/or recovery-based studies are required.
The Effects of Walking with a Load in the Heat on Physiological Responses among Military Reserve Female Cadets

Shuhada NA, Ong MLY, Chen CK

Int J Exerc Sci, 2020;13(2):900-911.
PMID: 32922628

This study aimed to investigate the effects of walking in a hot and humid environment while wearing a combat suit with a load on physiological responses among the Malaysian Military Reserve Officer Training Unit (ROTU) female cadets. Eight healthy female ROTU cadets (age: 21.3 ± 1.0 years old; height: 156.3 ± 4.9 cm; weight: 55.6 ± 7.5 kg) participated in this randomised, crossover trial. They walked for 1 h on a treadmill at 3 km.h-1 while carrying either 8.2 kg load (WL) or without load (WOL) in a room maintained at 30°C and 70% relative humidity. Heart rate, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and tympanic temperature were recorded at regular intervals during the trials. Nude body weight was recorded before and after the walk to determine body weight loss and sweat rate. Urine samples were also collected before and after the walk to determine urine specific gravity of the participants. There was a significant main effect of time and interaction for heart rate (p < 0.001) during the experimental trials. Tympanic temperature was significantly higher at 60th min in WL trial (p < 0.05) compared to the WOL trial. Similarly, RPE was found to be significantly higher in WL trial (p < 0.01) compared to the WOL trial. However, the percentage of body weight loss and sweat rate was significantly different between trials (p < 0.05). Wearing a combat suit with a load showed significantly increased metabolic demands compared to wearing combat suit alone during prolonged walking in a hot and humid environment.
Investigating serum concentration profiles of orally ingested short-chain fatty acid supplements

Green CG, Ong MLY, Rowland SN, Bongiovanni T, James LJ, Clifford T, et al.

Food Funct, 2024 Nov 25;15(23):11525-11536.
PMID: 39498577 DOI: 10.1039/d4fo04028g

Acetate, propionate, and butyrate are naturally-occurring short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) derived from bacterial metabolism of dietary fibre and have been associated with numerous positive health outcomes. All three acids have been shown to offer unique physiological and metabolic effects and, therefore, could be targeted for co-ingestion as part of a nutritional/medicinal plan. However, a better understanding of the outcomes of supplementing in combination on circulating concentration profiles is necessary to confirm uptake efficacy. This study sought to investigate the acute circulating concentration profiles of acetate, propionate, and butyrate following oral supplementation. Three experimental trials were conducted including investigations to understand the impact of capsule coating on circulating concentration profiles, the effect of supplementation dose on uptake kinetics, and the outcome of a short, repeated, supplementation routine on circulating levels. Serum samples were analysed for SCFA content using a quantitative GC-MS assay. It was observed that an acid-resistant coated capsule caused a delayed and blunted blood concentration response, with the non-acid resistant trial displaying earlier and more intense peak serum concentrations. For dose comparison investigations, all SCFAs peaked within 60 min and returned to baseline concentrations by 120 min post-supplementation. A graded dose relationship was present for propionate and butyrate when considering the total circulating exposure across a 240 min monitoring period. In addition, a one-week, twice-daily, repeated supplementation protocol resulted in no changes in basal serum SCFA concentrations. Overall, these data indicate that acetate, propionate, and butyrate display relatively similar circulating concentration profiles following oral co-ingestion, adding knowledge to help inform supplementation strategies for future outcomes where acute elevation of circulating SCFAs is desired.