Effects of Yeast Protein-Whey Protein Composite Supplementation on Recovery from Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Well-Trained Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Compared with water alone, a yeast protein-whey protein composite favorably influenced selected biochemical, perceptual, and muscle-function responses after exercise-induced muscle damage, with the clearest pattern in males, and its overall response pattern was broadly aligned with whey protein.
Key Findings
Methods
The yeast protein-whey composite (YP) was compared with whey protein (WP) and a water-only control (C) in a randomized three-arm trial of well-trained athletes, and 48 of 54 participants completed all follow-up.
YP and WP provided 0.9 g·kg-1·day-1 of actual protein, and the two were isonitrogenous.
C received water only and was not energy or sensory matched to the protein interventions.
Supplementation lasted 7 days before the bilateral isokinetic EIMD protocol and continued through the 48 h assessment.
Outcomes were measured before EIMD, immediately after, and at 24, 48, and 72 h.
Results
The EIMD protocol produced time-dependent biochemical, perceptual, and functional changes.
Outcomes were grouped into muscle damage and soreness, inflammatory responses, and muscle function and performance.
Female and male athletes were analyzed separately using linear mixed-effects models with multiplicity-adjusted contrasts.
Results
Creatine kinase (CK) was lower with YP than with water control at 24 h in females and at 48 h in males after Holm-adjusted comparisons.
The female 24 h CK finding was considered exploratory because the group × time interaction did not remain significant after damage-domain BH-FDR correction.
The immediate male YP-C difference in CK was significant only in the log-scale analysis.
Results
In males, YP was associated with lower soreness averaged across assessments and a lower immediate post-EIMD IL-6 value than control.
The soreness difference was for soreness averaged across assessment time points.
The IL-6 difference was observed at the immediate post-EIMD time point.
Results
Selected countermovement jump (CMJ) comparisons in males favored YP, but these were exploratory after broader multiplicity correction.
The CMJ findings did not hold up as confirmatory under the broader multiplicity correction.
Results
Acute-decline analyses in males showed smaller losses with YP in bilateral maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and right-leg eccentric peak torque, but only the right-leg eccentric YP-C comparison survived BH-FDR correction.
The bilateral MVC difference did not remain significant after BH-FDR correction.
The right-leg eccentric peak torque YP versus C comparison remained significant after BH-FDR correction.
Conclusions
The overall response pattern of YP was broadly aligned with that of WP.
The authors interpret this as supporting the recovery-related potential and practical value of incorporating yeast-derived protein into a whey-based formulation.
Methods
The study has design limitations that constrain interpretation of sex differences and of the protein-versus-water comparison.
The study was not powered to formally compare intervention effects between sexes.
The water-only control was not energy or sensory matched to the protein interventions.
Several findings were exploratory after multiplicity correction.
What This Means
This study tested whether a protein supplement blending yeast protein and whey protein could help athletes recover after muscle-damaging exercise. Fifty-four well-trained athletes took the yeast-whey blend, whey protein alone, or plain water for 7 days. They then did a demanding leg exercise protocol designed to damage muscle, and were tracked for up to 72 hours. Forty-eight completed the study. Men and women were analyzed separately.
Compared with water, the yeast-whey blend was linked to lower levels of creatine kinase, a blood marker of muscle damage, at 24 hours in women and at 48 hours in men. In men, it was also linked to less soreness overall, a lower early inflammation marker (IL-6), and smaller losses in some strength measures. After statistical corrections for testing many outcomes, many of these results were considered exploratory. Only the smaller loss in right-leg eccentric strength in men stayed statistically significant. The blend's overall pattern was similar to that of whey protein alone.
This research suggests that yeast protein blended with whey may support recovery about as well as whey, which could make it a practical ingredient option. The evidence is limited: the water control was not matched for calories or taste, the study was not designed to compare men and women, and many findings were not confirmed after correction. Larger studies would be needed to confirm these effects.
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Xu C, Gong L, Ni Z, Wang X. (2026). Effects of Yeast Protein-Whey Protein Composite Supplementation on Recovery from Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Well-Trained Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18203358