Oral supplementation of natural honey and levels of inflammatory and anti- inflammatory plasma cytokines during 10-week of intensive treadmill training in endurance-trained athletes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of natural honey supplementation on levels of plasma cytokines during 10 weeks of treadmill training in endurance-trained athletes. Twenty male endurance-trained athletes (age 20 years, weight 75 kg) participated in this study. The participants were randomly assigned to exercise supplement (E+S, n=10), and exercise control (EC, n=10) groups. All subjects participated in 10 weeks of intensive treadmill training. Venous blood samples were collected immediately after exercise (T1), 1 hour after exercise (T2) and 24 hours after exercise (T3). In the EC group, 10 weeks of training increased the seminal, IL-6, Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF- α) immediately after exercise (T1) , 1 h after exercise (T2), 24 hours after exercise (T3)(P<0.05). However, E+S group showed significant decrease in TNF- α and IL-6 with a corresponding increase in IL1ra immediately after exercise (T1) , 1 h after exercise (T2) and 24 hours after exercise (T3) p<0.05. It is proposed that oral supplementation of honey decreases inflammatory cytokine such as IL-6 and TNF- α with a corresponding increase in anti-inflammatory cytokine such as IL1ra