Introduction: Inflammatory markers play a very important role in body's defense mechanism. Pro-inflammatory markers and anti-inflammatory markers counterbalance each other. It is extremely essential for the body to maintain their balance for a good immune response.
Objectives: To study the effect of yoga practices on selected pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine among industrial workers.
Materials and methods: Forty eight male study participants, aged 30-58 years, were randomly divided into experimental (n=24) & control (n=24) groups. Pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 were evaluated at the baseline and at the end of 12 wk of yoga training in both the groups. During the experimental study, all the study participants continued with their daily lifestyle and diet. Data were analysed using paired t-test and independent t-test.
Results: The result of within group comparison revealed that the yoga group showed a significant decrease in IL-1 β while significant increase in IL-10 (p < 0.05), whereas the control group revealed no change in IL-1 β (p > 0.05) and IL-10 (p > 0.05). Further, the results between the groups confirmed that the yoga group had significantly lower level of IL-1 β and increase in IL-10 as compared to control group (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The present study has demonstrated that yoga practices could reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine and increase anti-inflammatory cytokine in industrial workers.
Keywords: Anti-inflammatory cytokine; Industrial workers; Pro-inflammatory cytokine; Yoga.