Effect of strenuous physical activity and Crocus Sativus supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers in male mountain climbers

Background: This study attempted to investigate acute effect of strenuous physical activity with and without Crocus Sativus supplementation on heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and TNFα in male mountain climbers. Methods: A 10-day, single-blinded semi experimental design was adopted. Eleven male climbers with an age range of 27-37 years old ran at one session strenuous physical activity with intensity 80-90% of maximum heart rate for 45 minutes on a -5% slope surface. Blood samples were collected from subjects before, immediately and one hour after the strenuous physical activity to measure HSP70, IL-6 and TNFα. 3 days after recovery, the subjects were given 300 mg of dried stigmas of Crocus Sativus in capsules once a day for ten days. Subsequently, blood samples were obtained from the subjects again before, immediately and one hour after strenuous physical activity. The changing trends in the variables were evaluated through analysis of variance with repeated measures at a significance level 0.05. Results: One session strenuous physical activity with Crocus Sativus supplementation compared with only strenuous physical activity had a significant effect on the level of heat shock protein 70 680.25±127.86 (ng/ml) vs 528.18±111.63 (ng/ml) at the immediately after of strenuous physical activity (p<0.05).strenuous physical activity with Crocus Sativus supplementation compared with only strenuous physical activity had no significant effect on the level of IL-6 and TNFα at the before, immediately and one hour after strenuous physical activity (p>0.05). Conclusion: Crocus Sativus intake ten days before a session of strenuous physical activity can decrease the effect of heat shock protein 70 immediately after strenuous physical activity.