Effects of eight weeks aerobic exercise with consumption of nettle extract on hs-CRP in inactive middle-aged women with type II diabetes

In diabetic patients, levels of inflammatory factors such as hs-CRP are high and reduction of these factors may lead to the reduction of mortality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether the eight-week aerobic exercise with nettle supplementation would influence on hs-CRP levels in inactive middle-aged women with type II diabetes.
42 inactive middle-aged women with diabetes with an average age of 57.1 ± 06.66 years were randomly divided into four groups: control, placebo, aerobic exercise with placebo, and exercise with nettle supplement (NS). Eight-week increasing aerobic exercise program consisted of 3 sessions per week of running on a treadmill for 30-55 minutes with intensity of 45-65% heart rate reserve. The first week started with low intensity and reached to maximum intensity in the last week. Dose of NS and placebo was 6 cc divided in 3 times and consumed following meals. Blood samples were obtained one day before the first and 48 h after the last training session.
After eight weeks, a significant reduction in the hs-CRP levels only was found in the exercise plus NS (P = 0.029), but not in the control, NS and exercise with placebo groups were found.
It seems that the consumption of nettle supplement with regular aerobic exercise can reduce inflammation in diabetic patients.