Evaluation of the Effect of short-term Barberry Juice Supplementation on humoral immune response in active girls following exhaustive exercise activity: A randomized double-blind clinical trial

Background: Regarding the physiological and immunological changes of the human body following acute exhaustive activity and the evidence in traditional medicine of the effects of barberry on the strengthening of the immune system, the aim of this study was evaluation of the effect short-term barberry juice supplementation on the response of immunoglobulin A, G, M and cortisol in active girls following exhaustive exercise activity. Methods: In this clinical trial study, 20 healthy young girls (23.92±1.28 years, weight 55.69±5.71 kg) were randomly divided into two experimental group (consumption of 250 ml barberry juice and exhausting activity) and control group (consumption of 250 ml placebo and exhausting activity). After the two-week supplementation, both groups performed exercise activity until they were of exhaustion on the treadmill. In this research, the nutritional value of barberry juice was extracted and the subjects' nutrition was analyzed. Blood samples were measured to measure the humoral immune variables in similar conditions in three stages of pre-test, after two weeks of supplementation and after the exhaustive test and using Independent T-test, ANOVA with repeated measure and Bonferron's post hoc test were analyzed at p≤0.05. Results: The results showed that in the experimental group, the levels of immunoglobulin A (p=0.026), G (p=0.013) and M (p=0.017) after acute exhaustive activity were significantly higher than the control group, whereas in the experimental group cortisol values (p=0.018) were significantly lower than the control group. Conclusion: It seems that consumption of barberry juice for two weeks with increased immune function reduces the effects of acute exhausting activity on the immune system in active girls.