The Acute Effect of Ingesting a Quercetin-Based Supplement on Exercise-Induced Inflammation and Immune Changes in Runners

Abstract

This study tested the acute anti-inflammatory and immune modulating influence of a quercetin-based supplement consumed by endurance athletes 15-min prior to an intense 2-h run. In this randomized, crossover study, 20 runners (N=11 males, N=9 females, age 38.4±2.1 y) completed two 2-h treadmill runs at 70% VO2max (3 weeks apart). Subjects ingested either four quercetin-based-chews (Q-chew) or placebo chews (PL) 15 min prior to the runs. The four Q-chews provided 1000 mg quercetin, 120 mg epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG), 400 mg isoquercetin, 400 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), 1000 mg vitamin C, and 40 mg niacinamide. Subjects provided blood samples 30 min before, immediately following and 1-h post-exercise, and were analyzed for plasma quercetin, total blood leukocytes (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), nine cytokines (IL-6, TNFα, GM-CSF, IFNγ, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70), and granulocyte and monocyte phagocytosis (GR-PHAG and MO-PHAG) and oxidative burst activity (GR-OBA and MO-OBA). Plasma quercetin increased from 80.0±26.0 µg/L to 6,337±414 µg/L (post-exercise) and 4,324±310 µg/L (1-h post-exercise) after ingestion of Q-chews compared to no change in PL (P

Date of Award	2011
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Medical University Graz
Supervisor	Sandra Johanna Holasek (Supervisor)