Effect of whey protein consumption on IL-6 and TNF-α: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Due to inconsistent data about WP supplementation on inflammatory markers, present systematic review and meta-analysis was done to summarize its effect on TNF-α and IL-6. METHODS: Our search was done in Pubmed, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane up to June 2021. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) was used to indicate the effect sizes. Conceivable sources of heterogeneity were detected by subgroup analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 11 eligible RCTs were included. The pooled results showed that WP supplementation had no significant effect on TNF-α and IL-6 status compare to those receiving carbohydrate and other types of proteins as placebo. Results from subgroup analysis based on health status, study duration, WP dosage and sex, expressed no favorable effect of WP on TNF-α and IL-6 levels. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that whey supplementation had no favorable effects on inflammatory biomarkers including TNF- α and IL-6.

Carotenoids supplementation and inflammation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of carotenoids on selected inflammatory parameters. PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of science were searched from inception until April 2021. The random-effect model was used to analyze data and the overall effect size was computed as weighted mean difference (WMD) and corresponding 95% of confidence interval (CI). A total of 26 trials with 35 effect sizes were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated significant effects of carotenoids on C-reactive protein (CRP) (WMD: ‒0.54 mg/L, 95% CI: ‒0.71, ‒0.37, P < 0.001), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (WMD: ‒0.54 pg/mL, 95% CI: ‒1.01, ‒0.06, P = 0.025), however the effect on tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) was not significant (WMD: ‒0.97 pg/ml, 95% CI: ‒1.98, 0.03, P = 0.0.059). For the individual carotenoids, astaxanthin, (WMD: ‒0.30 mg/L, 95% CI: ‒0.51, ‒0.09, P = 0.005), lutein/zeaxanthin (WMD: ‒0.30 mg/L, 95% CI: ‒0.45, ‒0.15, P < 0.001), and ß-cryptoxanthin (WMD: ‒0.35 mg/L, 95% CI: ‒0.54, ‒0.15, P < 0.001) significantly decreased CRP level. Also, only lycopene (WMD: ‒1.08 pg/ml, 95%CI: ‒2.03, ‒0.12, P = 0.027) led to a significant decrease in IL-6. The overall results supported possible protective effects of carotenoids on inflammatory biomarkers.