Short-term L-arginine supplementation attenuates elevation of interleukin 6 level after resistance exercise in overweight men

Background and aim: L-Arginine (L-arg) supplementation and resistance exercise can induce changes in inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines; however, it has not been investigated in obese hypertensive men. This study examines the effects of short-term L-arg supplementation and acute resistance exercise (AREX) on cytokine levels in obese hypertensive men. Methods: Eight obese hypertensive men aged 46 +/- 6 yrs. with an average body weight of 92.56 +/- 9.9 kg and a BMI of 31.68 +/- 2.18 kg/ m(2) participated in a randomized, double-blinded, crossover study. The patients were distributed into exercise groups based on the type of supplementation (6 g/day of placebo or L-arg for 7 days). Supplementation periods were separated by a seven-day washout period. The AREX regimen consisted of eight exercises with an exercise intensity of 60% of 1 repetition maximum. The interleukins IL-1ra, IL-6, and IL-10 and the IL-6/IL10 ratio were determined at rest, immediately after exercise and 1 h after exercise sessions. Results: IL-1ra levels exhibited a significant difference both immediately and 1 h after exercise when the L-arg and placebo groups were compared (P < 0.05). IL-6 levels increased significantly after exercise in the placebo group compared with the L-arg group (P < 0.05). The placebo group showed a decrease in the IL-10 levels 1 h after exercise compared with resting levels (P < 0.05). The IL-6/IL-10 ratio showed a statistically significant increase in the placebo group after exercise compared to the L-arg group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: LARG supplementation attenuates the cytokine increase after AREX, in particular peak IL-6 levels decrease and exercise induced decreases in IL-10 levels are attenuated. (c) 2017 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.