Effect of Pleuran (β-glucan from Pleurotus ostreatus) supplementation on cellular immune response after intensive exercise in elite athletes

Excessive and exhausting physical loads depress the immune system. Carbohydrate consumption may minimize the postexercise suppression of the innate immune system. beta-Glucan is a well-known immunomodulator, with positive effects on the functioning of immunocompetent cells. The goal of this study was to determine whether beta-glucan dietary supplementation 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 beta-glucan (n = 9) or placebo (n = 11) groups; these groups consumed 100 mg of beta-glucan (Imunoglukan) or placebo supplements, respectively, 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 supplementation period. The blood samples were used to measure the cell counts of leukocytes, erythrocyte, and lymphocytes; subpopulations 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 significant reduction in NKCA was found in the beta-glucan group. In addition, no significant decrease in NK cell count was measured in the beta-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 exercise-induced changes in NKCA in intensively training athletes.