The Effect of Short-term Beta-hydroxy Beta-methylbutyrate Supplementation on Serum Immunoglobulin A and G Levels in Male Wrestlers Following an Exhaustive Exercise: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Exercise training has been shown to induce transient changes in immunity responses. Researchers have reported conflicting results about the effect of vigorous exercise training on immunoglobulins levels. Due to the lack of consistent existing findings as well as the lack of sufficient studies to clarify some of the ambiguities associated with scientific inconsistencies, this study aimed to examine the effect of short-term beta-hydroxy-beta-methyl butyrate (HMB) supplementation on serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels in male wrestlers after an exhaustive exercise.

In this randomized clinical trial conducted at the IKIU Sports Physiology Laboratory in Qazvin, Iran, January 2019, 16 wrestlers completed an informed consent form and, then, were randomly divided into two groups (i.e., the supplement group (n=8) and the control group (n=8)). The supplement group received daily 40 mg/kg body weight HMB supplement over two weeks (about 3 g/day). As for the control group, starch was used as a placebo. Blood samples were obtained from the subjects to measure the serum immunoglobulin in five phases, including the pre-supplementation, before, immediately after, 1 hour after, and 24 hours after the exercise protocol. “Bruce test until exhaustion” was adopted as the exercise protocol in this study. Data analysis was performed by using repeated measure analysis and SPSS 24 software.

The results showed that there was no significant difference between the groups regarding the effects of supplementation of HMB on IgG (P=0.75) and IgA (P=0.56) levels. However, significant changes were observed in the levels of IgA (P=0.049) and IgG (P=0.001) in the groups.

According to the study results, It was suggested that the use of HMB supplementation at the dose used in this study may not have significantly affected the IgG and IgA levels after an exhaustive activity. However, it was recommended that further studies be carried out in this area to produce more consistent findings and clarify the ambiguities about the given issue.