Introduction Limited research and information exists on the mechanism of the effects of Chinese herbs on elite athletes` immune function. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of herbal extracts from milkvetch root and lucidun ganoderma, which is proposed to strengthen and invigorate genuine qi on the peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets, in elite rowers after exhaustive exercise. The possible mechanism at the angle of apoptosis will also be discussed. Methods Sixteen male elite rowers were selected during the period from August to October in 2004, and randomly assigned to either the control group or the herbal test group. A herbal extract supplement (composed of milkvetch root and lucidum ganoderma provided by Biomedicine Base of Jinan University, No.0929) or placebo was administered orally to the athletes in the two groups, using 15g doses for 30 days. The herbal group took the drug at 6:30 a.m. on the day of the test. The athletes warmed up for 5 minutes before the exercise test. After 5 minutes rest, they performed a treadmill exercise test at 80% maximal oxygen uptake until exhaustion. The concentration of CD4+ and CD8+, the percentage of apoptotic cells and percentage of CD95-positive cells were detected using elite flow cytometry. Results With regard to changes of T lymphocyte subsets, 24 hours after the exercise test the concentration of CD4+ and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ in the herbal group were higher than before exercise and also higher than the control group. The differences were statistically significant [(38.36±4.43)%, (31.71±4.98)%, (32.45±5.80)%; 1.23±0.22, 0.97±0.24, 0.94±0.28, P<0.05]. In terms of changes of the apoptotic cells 1.5 hours after the exercise, the percentage of apoptotic cells in the herbal test group was lower than before exercise, and the differences were statistically significant [(25.85±7.35)%, (32.55±8.34)%, P<0.05]. No significant differences in the percentage of apoptotic cells were found from before exercise to 1.5 hours after exercise in the control group [(31.18±8.96)%, (30.05±9.56)%, P>0.05]. The results of the changes of the expression of CD95 indicate that there was no significant difference in the percentage of CD95-positive cells before, 1.5h, and 24h after exercise in the herbal test group [(38.82±8.90)%, (38.04±8.74)%, (37.73±6.68)%, P>0.05]. Furthermore, there was also no significant difference in the percentage of CD95-positive cells before, 1.5h, and 24h after exercise in the control group [(40.10±7.07)%, (38.11±7.15)%, (36.66±5.27)% P>0.05]. Conclusions Herbal extract supplementation can significantly increase the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ in elite rowers after exhaustive exercise. The possible underlying mechanism may be that herbal extracts can increase the concentration of CD4+ lymphocytes and improve the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ by inhibiting CD4+ lymphocyte apoptosis after exhaustive exercise.
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