Effect of supplementation of Mulberry leaf extract and combined exercises on serum levels of TNF-α and interleukin 18 in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes

Introduction and Inflammatory markers play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetes. However, the effect of exercise and Mulberry leaf extract on diabetics is not well known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of aerobic-resistance exercises along with the consumption of Mulberry leaf extract on the serum levels of TNF-α and interleukin 18 in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. In this clinical study, 40 elderly men (mean age: 67.07±1.50) with type 2 diabetes were randomly divided into five control groups (8 people), placebo (8 people), and Mulberry leaf extract (8 people). Combined training (8 people) and Mulberry leaf extract + combined training (8 people) were included. The exercises were done for eight weeks and three sessions per week for 90 minutes. 3000 mg of Mulberry leaf extract per day was prescribed along with three main meals. Before the intervention and 48 hours after the last training session, serum levels of TNF-α and interleukin 18 were measured through blood samples. The SPSS software and the analysis of covariance statistical test, followed by the Benferroni post hoc test at a significance level of 0.05, were used to analyze the data. A significant decrease in TNF-α and interleukin 18 levels was observed in the exercise, extract and exercise+extract groups (P<0.05). The results between the groups showed a significant difference in TNF-α (P=0.001) and interleukin 18 (P=0.001), which is greater in the extract + exercise group than the exercise and extract groups.Discussion and It seems that 8 weeks of combined exercise combined with the consumption of Mulberry leaf extract reduces the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and interleukin-18 in elderly men with type 2 diabetes.