The effect of silymarin supplementation on the serum levels of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein following a single bout of aerobic exercise in healthy men

Silymarin is a standardized extract of the milk thistle seeds that stabilizes cell membranes and regulate cell permeability properties. So, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of different doses of silymarin on some inflammatory indices in serum of active men after one-session aerobic exercise.
For this purpose, twenty-seven active men in a quasi-experimental and double-blind design were divided into three equal groups of 9 subjects each; supplement (Silymarin: 5 and 10 mg.kg-1) and placebo (Dextrose: 5 mg.kg-1). After 14 days of the supplementation, all subjects were participated in a single aerobic exercise that included; running on the treadmill at the 0% grade for 30 min with an intensity of 70-75% HR reserve. Blood samples were taken at three phases (baseline, after supplementation period and 24 hours after the exercise). Data were analyzed using repeated-measure 3×3 ANOVA (group×time), Bonferroni and independent t-test at α The findings showed that a single bout of aerobic exercise significantly increases 24-hours inflammatory indices in all groups (p=0.001). However, in comparison with the placebo group, silymarin ingestion groups (5 and 10 mg.kg-1) had lower inflammatory markers (IL-6 & CRP) following one-session aerobic exercise (p=0.024).
According to this, it may be concluded that the short-term ingestion of 5 or 10 mg.kg-1 of silymarin could dose-dependent reduce aerobic exercise-induced inflammatory markers in active men.