The impact of micronutrient intake on inflammatory cytokines: A community-based diet intervention

Emma-Nnopu, Agnes

Item

The impact of micronutrient intake on inflammatory cytokines: A community-based diet intervention

Emma-Nnopu, Agnes

Date

2025-05-05

Abstract

The intersection between diet, immunity and cancer is crucial within cancer research. The purpose of the study was to investigate if changes in micronutrient and antioxidant consumption can modulate the expression of inflammatory cytokines: Interferon-Gamma (IFN-γ) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha-Gamma (TNF-α) in a community-based diet intervention for cancer survivors, while investigating the feasibility of cancer survivors utilizing a diet protocol to improve diet quality. Blood markers were collected via venipuncture and finger stick at three timepoints (baseline, 6 weeks and 12 weeks). Cuisine for Healing supplied participants with 7 meals a week for 12 weeks. Pearson’s Correlation Regression was used to assess the relationship between changes in cytokine levels (IFN- γ and TNF- α) and changes in nutrient intake from baseline to 6 weeks. Feasibility was evaluated by participant compliance with meal collection from Cuisine for Healing. The alpha value was set to <0.05 to define statistical significance. No significant p-values were observed in the study; however, changes in zinc intake were found to be strongly correlated with changes in both IFN-γ (r = 0.893, R2 = 0.797) and TNF-α (r = 0.777, R2 = 0.604). Feasibility of the intervention was supported by the data. Despite the lack of significance, these findings suggest nutrient-cytokine interactions, underscoring the possible role that diet may have in modulating inflammation and immune regulation. Due to the small sample size (n=9), these findings should be interpreted with caution, and further investigation with greater statistical power is necessary.