Investigating relationships between physical performance, muscle health and gut microbiome in older adults

This thesis aimed to investigate the effects of a synbiotic (combination of a prebiotic and probiotics) on measures of physical function and muscle health in older adults. Sixty-four community-dwelling older women and men were allocated (1:1) to receive a multi-strain synbiotic or placebo daily for 16 weeks. 16 weeks of synbiotic supplementation resulted in increased lean body mass and significant improvements in muscle strength and physical performance compared with placebo. Compared with placebo, supplementation with synbiotic was associated with improved muscle architecture as assessed by ultrasound. Beneficial links between synbiotic intake and untargeted serum metabolomics were observed.