Modulation of serum level of TNF-α following caffeine intake in response to a single bout of resistance exhaustive exercise

Background and Objective: Since the results of some scientific data on positive effects of caffeine compounds on modulation the inflammatory symptoms have been reported, the present study was conducted to identify the effect of acute different doses of caffeine ingestion on serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) response following a single bout resistance exhaustive exercise in male volleyball players.

Materials and Methods: Thirty male volleyball players (aged 21.47±1.45 years, fat 10.47±3.11%, and BMI 23.15±1.26 kg.m2) in an experimental, randomized and double-blind design were allocated equally into three randomized homogeneous groups: supplement groups (Caffeine intake: 6 or 9 mg.kg-1) and placebo group (Dextrose intake: 6 mg.kg-1). After the supplementation, all subjects were participated in a single resistance weight-training (with 80% of one repetition maximum until exhaustive). Changes in serum TNF-α were determined in three phases (Baseline, 45 min after the supplementation and 24 hours after the training protocol). The normal data were analyzed by repeated measure ANOVA and Bonferroni at α≤0.05.

Results: The results show that the different doses of caffeine ingestion has significant effects (P < 0.05) on the basal inflammatory marker. Moreover, the 24-hour response of serum TNF-α following the resistance exercise in caffeine groups was significantly less than placebo group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Based on the present findings, it can be concluded that acute different doses of caffeine intake may be able to reduce exercise-induced inflammatory response (TNF-α) following a single bout resistance exercise in male volleyball players.