As an example of detrimental effects of excessive physical activity, it has been reported that elite endurance athletes during periods of intensive training have a higher frequency of upper respiratory tract infections, similarly to the effects on non-elite runners following a marathon.
In fact, acute vigorous exercise alters almost all blood immune cells influencing their functional capacity. However, its functionality can be reduced when the exercise performance is extreme or excessive. In comparison with sedentary behavior, it is well established that regular or moderate physical activity improves the immune system defensive function. It is important to point out that the immune system functionality is also influenced by physical exercise. Physical activity stimulates the body’s cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and metabolic systems, making them more efficient. Sedentary life is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, hypertension and depression. Nowadays, there is no doubt about the benefits of regular physical activity for health and in the prevention of several diseases. These results suggest that hesperidin can prevent exhausting exercise-induced immune alterations. Hesperidin supplementation enhanced natural killer cell cytotoxicity and the proportion of phagocytic monocytes, attenuated the secretion of cytokines by stimulated macrophages, prevented the leukocytosis induced by exhaustion and increased the proportion of T helper cells in the thymus, blood and spleen.
At the end, blood, thymus, spleen and macrophages were collected before, immediately after and 24 h after an additional final exhaustion test. Throughout the training period, 200 mg/kg of hesperidin or vehicle was administered by oral gavage three times per week. Intensive training was induced by running in a treadmill 5 days per week (including two exhausting tests) for five weeks. For this purpose, female Wistar rats were randomized into an intensive training group or a sedentary group. The aim of this study was to establish the effect of oral hesperidin supplementation on the systemic immune system in rats following an intensive training and exhausting exercise. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain whether it also prevents exhausting exercise-induced immune alterations. The flavanone hesperidin has shown immunomodulatory properties in physiological and some pathological conditions, and positive effects on exercise-induced oxidative stress. Intensive training and exhausting exercise can disrupt innate and acquired immunity.
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