Cinnamomum burmannii Suplementation Regulation of the Expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α as Markers of Circulating Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes that Recognize Inflammatory Responses due to High-Intensity Exercise

Abstract

This study aims to determine the role of Cinnamomum burmanii supplementation in increasing CD8⁺ T cells or cytotoxic T cells. It employed the posttest-only control group design. The experimental units in this study were 41 male mouse (Mus musculus) of the BALB/c strain, which were randomly divided into four groups. The first group of 10 mice was a control group that received no treatment. The second group was treated with 200 mg/kg BW of cinnamon extract without exercise. The third group consisted of 10 mice undergoing a high-intensity exercise regimen and receiving a placebo treatment. The fourth group both received the cinnamon supplementation at 200 mg/kg BW and underwent an exercise regimen. The exercise regimen took the form of a regular 7-day-long high-intensity downhill treadmill training with a load of 80-90% of maximum capacity and an inclination angle of -15°. On the 8^th day, twelve hours after exercise, the spleen of the mice was taken for a flow cytometric examination to count the numbers of CD8⁺ T cells and CD8⁺ T cells expressing IFN-γ and TNF-α. The counts of CD8+ T cells were significantly different among the groups (p = 0.004), with the median value of the control group being 5.79 ± 2.19, in comparison to that of the fourth group (5.23 ± 1.84). There were significant differences in the counts of CD8⁺ T cells expressing IFN-γ among the groups (p = 0.027), with the median value of the control group being 18.73 ± 11.94, in comparison to that of the fourth group (10.58 ± 3.78). However, the counts of CD8⁺ T cells expressing TNF-α lacked significant differences among the groups (p = 0.857), with the median value of the control group being 11.61 ± 10.27, in comparison to that of the fourth group (8.86 ± 3.50). In summary, cinnamon supplementation to high-intensity exercise led to significant increases in the relative counts of CD8+ T cells (p = 0.004) and CD8+ T cells expressing IFN- γ (p = 0.027), but it did not show any significant difference in the relative count of CD8⁺ T cells expressing TNF-α.