The effect of different caffeine doses on acute inflammatory response following one-session exhaustive resistance training in male volleyball players

Based upon the anecdotal results about caffeine dose effects on exercise-induced inflammatory response, the present study was conducted to identify the effect of different doses of caffeine on acute inflammatory response following one-session exhaustive resistance training in male volleyball players. A total of 30 male elite volleyball players (aged 20-25 years and body fat 10-15%) in a quasi-experimental, randomized and double-blind design were allocated equally into three randomized homogeneous groups: supplement groups (Caffeine intake: 6 or 9 mg.kg-1) and placebo group (Dextrose intake: 6 mg.kg-1). After the supplementation, all subjects were participated in a one-session exhaustive resistance weight-training (with 80% of one repetition maximum). Changes in serum Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined in three phases (Baseline, 45 min after the supplementation and 24 hours after the training protocol).The normal data were analyzed by repeated measure ANOVA at α≤0.05. The serum TNF-α and CRP significantly increased 45 min after Caffeine intake (6 or 9 mg.kg-1) and 24 hours after one-session resistance training (P<0.05). However, the 24-hour response of serum TNF-α and CRP following one-session resistance training in the caffeine groups were significantly less than in the placebo group (P<0.05). According to the results, it can be concluded that the acute ingestion of 6 or 9 mg.kg-1 of caffeine could similarly result in reduced resistance exercise-induced inflammatory response in male volleyball players.