Effects of Cornelian Cherry on Microbiota in Male Professional Football Players

This study aimed to investigate the effects of lyophilized cornelian cherry supplementation on gut microbiota composition in male professional football players aged 18–37 years recruited from a football club competing in the Turkish Football Federation Second League in Istanbul, Türkiye. The participating football players received 30 g of cornelian cherries containing 350 mg of anthocyanins for six weeks. The fecal microbiota communities of the football players were analyzed using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Moreover, their nutritional status, body compositions, and vertical jump performance were assessed. In the cornelian cherry group, the median relative abundance of Parabacteroides goldsteinii increased from 0.06% (0.01–0.17%) at baseline to 0.37% (0.11–15.44%) at week 6 (p = 0.005). Similarly, median body fat percentage decreased from 10.8% (5.0–16.2%) to 9.6% (4.0–14.6%) (p = 0.019), while median vertical jump height increased from 37.7 cm (31.9–46.5 cm) to 39.3 cm (34.6–49.0 cm) (p = 0.005). However, the between-group difference in the absolute change in Parabacteroides goldsteinii relative abundance was not statistically significant (p = 0.190). Cornelian cherry supplementation was not associated with significant changes in gut microbial alpha or beta diversity. However, an increase in the relative abundance of Parabacteroides goldsteinii, along with changes in body composition and vertical jump performance, was observed in the intervention group. These preliminary findings suggest that changes in selected microbial, anthropometric, and performance outcomes occurred during the intervention, although supplementation-specific effects cannot be established. Larger, placebo-controlled trials are warranted to confirm these observations.