Hecto Healthcare said on Thursday it confirmed an exercise-endurance improvement effect in a probiotics study carried out jointly with Korea National Sport University. The university's Sports Performance Analysis Center (CSPA) presented a university-industry joint research case related to Hecto Healthcare's O2 Booster at the 'SportsAI NEXT' symposium. The study was based on a human trial evaluating the effects of the Slab51 probiotics formula in elite athletes.

Slab51 is a probiotics formula developed by probiotics researcher Professor De Simone. Overseas, it is used in product forms such as Sivomixx and Livecap, and in South Korea it is applied to O2 Booster.

The study found that under a condition of repeated intake for 7 days, both exercise duration and high-intensity exercise duration showed statistically significant increases. SOD activity, an antioxidant indicator, also increased, suggesting an association with maintaining performance and reducing fatigue during high-intensity exercise. The researchers are proceeding with follow-up steps with the aim of publishing in an academic journal.

The trial's principal investigator, Yoon Ji-woon (윤지운), head professor at the Korea National Sport University AI Convergence Sports Performance Analysis Center, said it was a case that objectively analysed changes in physiological responses observed in an exercise environment by combining sports science and data analysis. He said it was meaningful as baseline data for exploring antioxidant mechanisms related to maintaining performance during high-intensity exercise segments.

The symposium was organised as a venue to comprehensively share research results conducted by CSPA. Research findings that integrated sports science and AI-based analysis technology were disclosed, and researchers and officials attended for presentations and exchange programmes. At the event, O2 Booster, a Slab51-based product used in the research, was introduced to attendees.

A Hecto Healthcare R&D Center official said it was meaningful that research data secured through university-industry cooperation were shared on an academic stage. The official said the company would continue to strengthen its research-based approach to build scientific evidence in the healthcare field and expand its data-based healthcare capabilities.