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Effect of Pleuran (b-glucan from Pleurotus
ostreatus) supplementation on cellular immune
response after intensive exercise in elite athletes
Maria
´n Bobovc
ˇa
´k, Renata Kuniakova
´,Ja
´n Gabriz
ˇ, and Juraj Majta
´n
Abstract: Excessive and exhausting physical loads depress the immune system. Carbohydrate consumption may minimize
the postexercise suppression of the innate immune system. b-Glucan is a well-known immunomodulator, with positive ef-
fects on the functioning of immunocompetent cells. The goal of this study was to determine whether b-glucan dietary sup-
plementation from the mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus decreases the suppressed immune system responses induced by
short-term high-intensity exercise in humans. In this double-blind pilot study, 20 elite athletes were randomized to b-glucan
(n= 9) or placebo (n= 11) groups; these groups consumed 100 mg of b-glucan (Imunoglukan) or placebo supplements, re-
spectively, once a day for 2 months. Venous whole blood was collected before and after 2 months of supplementation
(baseline), both immediately and 1 h after (recovery period) a 20-min intensive exercise bout at the end of the supplementa-
tion period. The blood samples were used to measure the cell counts of leukocytes, erythrocyte, and lymphocytes; subpopu-
lations of lymphocytes, granulocytes, and monocytes; and natural killer (NK) cell activity (NKCA). A 28% reduction in
NKCA (p< 0.01) below the baseline value was observed in the placebo group during the recovery period, whereas no sig-
nificant reduction in NKCA was found in the b-glucan group. In addition, no significant decrease in NK cell count was
measured in the b-glucan group during the recovery period. Immune cell counts did not differ significantly between the
groups. These results indicate that insoluble b-glucan supplementation from P. ostreatus may play a role in modulating ex-
ercise-induced changes in NKCA in intensively training athletes.
Key words: b-glucan, Pleuran, carbohydrate supplement, whole-blood cells, natural killer cells, exercise, innate immunity, athletes.
Re
´sume
´:Des charges physiques trop lourdes et e
´puisantes affaiblissent le syste
`me immunitaire. La consommation de glu-
cides pourrait minimiser l’affaiblissement postexercice du syste
`me immunitaire inne
´.Leb-glucane est un immunomodula-
teur bien connu ayant des effets positifs sur les cellules immunocompe
´tentes. Cette e
´tude se propose de ve
´rifier si une
supple
´mentation alimentaire en b-glucane extrait du Pleurotus ostreatus, un champignon, diminue chez les humains la re
´-
ponse immunode
´pressive du syste
`me immunitaire suscite
´e par un exercice de haute intensite
´et de courte dure
´e. Au cours
d’une e
´tude pilote a
`double insu, on re
´partit ale
´atoirement 20 athle
`tes d’e
´lite en 2 groupes, l’un recevant du b-glucane
(n= 9) et l’autre, un placebo (n= 11). Ces groupes consomment respectivement un supple
´ment de 100 mg de b-glu-
cane (dont l’appellation commerciale est Imunoglukan) ou d’un placebo, et ce, tous les jours sur une pe
´riode de 2
mois. On pre
´le
`ve du sang veineux entier avant et apre
`s 2 mois de supple
´mentation (niveau de re
´fe
´rence) puis imme
´-
diatement apre
`s et 1 h apre
`s (pe
´riode de re
´cupe
´ration) une se
´ance d’exercice intense d’une dure
´e de 20 min a
`la fin
de la pe
´riode de supple
´mentation. On se sert des e
´chantillons sanguins pour la mesure du nombre de leucocytes,
d’e
´rythrocytes, de lymphocytes, de sous-populations de lymphocytes, de granulocytes, de monocytes et de l’activite
´
des cellules tueuses naturelles (NKCA). On observe au cours de la pe
´riode de re
´cupe
´ration du groupe placebo une di-
minution de 28 % de la NKCA (p< 0,01) par rapport au niveau de re
´fe
´rence; on n’observe cependant pas de dimi-
nution significative de la NKCA chez le groupe ayant consomme
´le b-glucane. De plus, on n’observe durant la
pe
´riode de re
´cupe
´ration aucune diminution du nombre de cellules tueuses naturelles chez le groupe ayant consomme
´
le b-glucane. Le nombre de cellules immunitaires ne diffe
`re pas significativement d’un groupe a
`l’autre. D’apre
`s ces
observations, une supple
´mentation en b-glucane extrait du P. ostreatus pourrait avoir un effet dans la modulation de
la NKCA suscite
´e par l’exercice chez des athle
`tes en entraı
ˆnement intensif.
Mots-cle
´s:b-glucane, pleurane, supple
´ment glucidique, cellules de sang entier, cellules tueuses naturelles, exercice
physique, syste
`me immunitaire inne
´, athle
`tes.
[Traduit par la Re
´daction]
Received 12 February 2010. Accepted 25 August 2010. Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at apnm.nrc.ca on 19 November
2010.
M. Bobovc
ˇa
´k. Clinical Laboratory of Institute for Respiratory Disease, 5983 Nova Polianka-High Tatras, Slovakia.
R. Kuniakova
´and J. Gabriz
ˇ.Pleuran, s.r.o, Su
´kennı
´cka 15, 821 09 Bratislava, Slovakia.
J. Majta
´n.1Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Du
´bravska
´cesta 9, 845 06 Bratislava, Slovakia; Department of
Microbiology, Slovak Medical University, Limbova 14, 833 03 Bratislava, Slovakia.
1Corresponding author (e-mail: Juraj.Majtan@savba.sk).
755
Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 35: 755–762 (2010) doi:10.1139/H10-070 Published by NRC Research Press