The Effects of Eight Weeks Interval Training and Curcumin Consumption on TNF-α and BDNF Levels in Men with Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

Background & Objectives: The reduction of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) affects memory, learning and cognition, food intake and energy metabolism and causes behavioral disorders. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of eight weeks interval training and curcumin consumption on TNF-α and BDNF levels in men with metabolic syndrome. Methods: This study was performed on 40 men with metabolic syndrome who were randomly divided into four groups, including exercise +supplement, exercise, supplement and control groups (n=10). The experimental groups did the exercise protocol and consumed curcumin supplement for eight weeks. The blood samples were collected 24 hours before the start of exercise and 48 hours after the last training session. One-way ANOVA and paired t-test were used to analyze the data. The significance level was considered to be p≤0.05.    Results: In exercise +supplement and exercise groups, significant changes were observed in BDNF (p=0.000, p=0.004) and TNF-α (p=0.001, p=0.008) levels compared to pre-test. Also, when analyzing changes between groups, TNF-α (p=0.004) and BDNF (p=0.000) changes were statistically significant in exercise +supplement group compared to other groups. Conclusion: Eight weeks moderate-intensity interval training combined with curcumin consumption significantly reduced inflammatory factors and increased BDNF expression.

Keywords

• Interval Training
• Curcumin
• BDNF
• TNF-α
• Metabolic Syndrome