Author(s): ALHEBSHI, A., THORLEY, J., JAMES, L., CLIFFORD, T., Institution: LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY, Country: UNITED KINGDOM, Abstract-ID: 693

INTRODUCTION:
Unaccustomed, highly strenuous, or prolonged exercise, triggers an acute phase inflammatory response, characterized by an increase in several inflammatory markers such as the pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). While an inflammatory response appears necessary for long-term muscle repair, and adaptation, if excessive or uncontrolled, it could damage cells and evoke symptoms of gastrointestinal stress, fatigue, delayed‐onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and increase the risk of upper respiratory illness. Hence, there is a growing interest in nutritional strategies that could modify the transient but potentially deleterious effects of post-exercise inflammation. While the (poly)phenol, curcumin, has exhibited anti-inflammatory effects in cell and animal studies, there remains limited data in humans. Therefore, this study examined whether curcumin could modify markers of inflammation after intense exercise.
METHODS:
Twenty-six healthy recreationally active males and females (25±6 years; 68±10 kg; 170±8 cm) completed the study. All females were tested in the early follicular phase of their menstrual cycle. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 1000 mg/day of curcumin or 1000 mg/day of inulin (placebo control), for 3 days before, and 30 min prior to 100 drop jumps, followed by 50 squat jumps. Blood samples were collected pre, post, 1-h, and 2-h post-exercise and analysed for IL-6, interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 4 (IL-4), interleukin 10 (IL-10), interleukin 12 (IL-12), TNFα, interferon gamma (IFNγ), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1). P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant; hedges g effect sizes were calculated for Holm-Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons.
RESULTS:
No significant time, treatment, and interaction effects were found for IL-6, TNFα, IL-12, IL-2, and IL-4. IL-10 increased 1 h-post exercise (P<0.001; g=1.12). IFNγ concentrations decreased 1 hr (-44%; P=0.004; g=0.45) and 2 hr (-17%; P<0.001; g=0.16) post exercise and MCP-1 increased 1 hr post exercise (~62%, P = 0.004; g = 0.64). G-CSF and VCAM-1 concentrations were higher in curcumin vs. placebo (treatment; P≤0.021; g≥0.26). MMP-9 levels increased immediately post exercise by 79% (P<0.001; g=0.26). There were no significant interaction effects for curcumin vs. placebo.
CONCLUSION:
Four days of curcumin supplementation did not modify inflammatory markers pre and post-exercise, suggesting that curcumin has limited effects on inflammation in humans. Further studies with different markers in different tissues are required to support these findings.