Alterations in human health parameters during stressful ship voyage to Antarctica: effects of probiotics intervention

Ship voyage to Antarctica under stressful conditions impacts the health of expedition members. Measures can be taken to prevent adverse physical and psychological effects. Compared with minimally stressed control subjects in Delhi (India), these effects were investigated in a placebo-controlled study with multi-species probiotics intervention on selected anthropometric, body physiological and biochemical parameters. Total 39 participants volunteered for the study, of which 19 participated in the Antarctic expedition by ship voyage and 20 were the control subjects at Delhi. Participants were randomly divided into two groups and received daily either a probiotic or placebo for 24 days. The results suggest that probiotic intervention during the Antarctic ship voyage reduced sea sickness in probiotic group (10% cases) compared to the placebo group (44% cases). After completion of the ship voyage and intervention, body anthropometric parameters were maintained in the probiotic group. In contrast, significant alterations were observed in the placebo group with respect to their body composition and biochemical parameters as compared to the control group in Delhi. This allows the conclusion that multi-species probiotic intervention may benefit anthropometric and biochemical parameters and reduce the negative influence of stress during the ship voyage. These findings may be useful in improving expedition members’ physiological health and body homeostasis during stressful conditions.