Skip to content
lunerievidence engine
Sign inCreate free account

01hs-CRP · the inflammation signal

Fivehands

C-reactive protein is a ring of five identical subunits. Each one carries a calcium-held pocket that binds phosphocholine on damaged cells. The liver makes more when inflammation rises.

Measured in
Blood (serum)
Units
mg/L
Also called
hsCRP, CRP, C-reactive protein
Human C-reactive protein with phosphocholine (PDB 1B09), rendered from its atomic coordinates.
Human C-reactive protein with phosphocholine · PDB 1B09

AWhat moves hs-CRP

25 of 27 studied

In human studies, 20 of the 27 supplements and practices researched so far lowered hs-CRP. 3 showed no change and 2 had mixed results. 2 were never studied for it.
  • Supported 20
  • No effect 3
  • Conflicting 2
  • Not studied 2
See hs-CRP on the evidence map →Check claims about hs-CRP →

Moves it20

Human studies found a change. The grade reflects the studies behind it, from A (strongest) to D.

Omega-3LowersGrade A

Omega-3 lowers hs-CRP.

64 studies linked

Studied in: General adult, Metabolic syndrome, Cardiovascular risk, T2DM

CRP −0.38 mg/L (p=0.004) in populations with elevated inflammation (MA_INFLAM_GUO_2019, n=2311). Null in metabolically healthy adults with normal baseline CRP (cormier_2016, n=191). Baseline inflammation is a critical effect modifier.

Open the Omega-3 page →Check a claim about this →
MagnesiumLowersGrade A

Magnesium lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 42 studies linked

Studied in: Metabolic syndrome, T2DM

I²=71% — very high heterogeneity; effect driven by metabolic syndrome subgroup with elevated baseline CRP; null in low-baseline-inflammation populations

Open the Magnesium page →Check a claim about this →
L-carnitineLowersGrade A

L-carnitine lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · Moderate effect · 40 studies linked

Studied in: General adult, T2DM, CKD, CAD

88 studies in corpus; anti-inflammatory effect consistent across chronic disease populations; Wang 2020 confirms ↓CRP in animal model

Open the L-carnitine page →Check a claim about this →
Vitamin ELowersGrade A

Vitamin E lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 40 studies linked

Studied in: NAFLD, Metabolic syndrome, Adult, Mixed sex

WMD −0.42 mg/L (95% CI −0.71 to −0.13) from VE-MA-001; high heterogeneity (I²=78%). Effect modest and inconsistent outside NAFLD populations. Publication bias signal detected in funnel plot.

Open the Vitamin E page →Check a claim about this →
Vitamin CLowersGrade A

Vitamin C lowers hs-CRP.

37 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, Elevated CRP baseline, Mixed cardiometabolic

Open the Vitamin C page →Check a claim about this →
HIITLowersGrade A

HIIT lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 29 studies linked

Studied in: Overweight obese, T2DM, Metabolic syndrome, Cardiac patients

Open the HIIT page →Check a claim about this →
ZincLowersGrade A

Zinc lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 29 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, T2D, Metabolic syndrome, CKD

Grade upgraded to A: three independent Grade A MAs confirm hs-CRP reduction — hosseini_2021 (WMD −0.58 mg/L, p<0.001, 34 RCTs, n=1,321), mohammadi_2021 (n=1,428, p<0.001), khazdouz_2020 (n=1,141). Mechanism: zinc inhibits NF-κB via A20/IκBα pathway, reducing hepatic CRP gene transcription. Effect population-dependen...

Open the Zinc page →Check a claim about this →
Vitamin D3LowersGrade A

Vitamin D3 lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 24 studies linked

Studied in: Deficient baseline, Chronic inflammatory state, Overweight obese

Open the Vitamin D3 page →Check a claim about this →
CreatineLowersGrade A

Creatine lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 21 studies linked

Studied in: Healthy adults, Athletes, Older adults, Metabolic syndrome

de Camargo 2026 MA demonstrates statistically significant hs-CRP reduction with creatine supplementation. Small-to-moderate effect size. Corpus coverage: 70 studies. Effect may be confounded by concurrent exercise in most trials (see popcav_cr_009).

Open the Creatine page →Check a claim about this →
NACLowersGrade A

NAC lowers hs-CRP.

Human trials · Moderate effect · 21 studies linked

Studied in: Adult, Renal failure, PCOS, Rheumatoid arthritis

Open the NAC page →Check a claim about this →
BerberineLowersGrade A

Berberine lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 17 studies linked

Studied in: Metabolic syndrome, T2DM, Inflammatory conditions, Predominantly Chinese

Open the Berberine page →Check a claim about this →
Ubiquinol (CoQ10)LowersGrade A

Ubiquinol (CoQ10) lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 11 studies linked

Studied in: Cardiovascular, Coronary artery disease, Metabolic syndrome, Chronic inflammatory disease

Open the Ubiquinol (CoQ10) page →Check a claim about this →
TaurineLowersGrade A

Taurine lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 10 studies linked

Studied in: Type 2 diabetes, Metabolic syndrome, Inflammatory conditions, Adults

18 corpus studies. Faghfouri 2022 dose-response MA confirms direction. TauCl → NF-κB inhibition is established mechanism.

Open the Taurine page →Check a claim about this →
Milk thistleLowersGrade A

Milk thistle lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · Small to moderate effect · 7 studies linked

Studied in: NAFLD, NASH, Metabolic syndrome, Chronic liver disease

Approximately −0.38 SMD. hsCRP reduction correlates with ALT normalization in NAFLD RCTs. Effect mediated by NF-κB inhibition (mech_002). CRP in this context reflects hepatic inflammation rather than cardiovascular risk.

Open the Milk thistle page →Check a claim about this →
MelatoninLowersGrade A

Melatonin lowers hs-CRP.

Moderate effect · 2 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, Metabolic syndrome, T2DM, NAFLD

Consistent reduction across 14-18 RCTs in two independent MAs; effect strongest at baseline CRP >3 mg/L; formulation-independent; minimal heterogeneity (I²≈38%)

  • Cho M et al. (2021)
  • Hallaji Z et al. (2023)
Open the Melatonin page →Check a claim about this →
Red yeast riceLowersGrade B

Red yeast rice lowers hs-CRP.

Human trials · 18 studies linked

Studied in: Hyperlipidemia, Hypertension subset, Moderate hypercholesterolemia, Chinese

Open the Red yeast rice page →Check a claim about this →
CollagenLowersGrade B

Collagen lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 9 studies linked

Studied in: Adult mixed sex, Cardiometabolic risk

Open the Collagen page →Check a claim about this →
AshwagandhaLowersGrade B

Ashwagandha lowers hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 3 studies linked

Studied in: Stressed adults, Athletes, Overweight adults with elevated baseline CRP

Open the Ashwagandha page →Check a claim about this →
L-theanineLowersGrade B

L-theanine lowers hs-CRP.

Human trials · 3 studies linked

Studied in: No human data

Open the L-theanine page →Check a claim about this →
Finnish saunaLowersGrade B

Finnish sauna lowers hs-CRP.

Observational · 2 studies linked

Studied in: Middle aged finnish male, Heart failure, General adult

Open the Finnish sauna page →Check a claim about this →

Studied, no change3

Studies looked and found no meaningful change. That is a result, not missing data.

IronNo changeGrade A

Studies of Iron found no change in hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 14 studies linked

Studied in: General ida, CKD

CRP not significantly altered by iron supplementation in most RCTs. Transient CRP increase within 24–48h of IV iron infusion (acute phase response to nanoparticle degradation). High CRP suppresses iron absorption via hepcidin; CRP is a confounder, not a target.

Open the Iron page →Check a claim about this →
Vitamin K2No changeGrade A

Studies of Vitamin K2 found no change in hs-CRP.

Meta-analysis or review · 7 studies linked

Studied in: General adult, Older adults, Healthy, Community dwelling

Consolidated CRP and hs_crp entries. Shea 2008 (K1, n=379, 3yr): null (p=0.59). Karamzad 2022 (MK-7, n=45, T2DM): inconsistent/null. 9 studies in corpus. In-vitro NF-κB data do not translate to systemic anti-inflammatory effect in non-inflammatory populations.

Open the Vitamin K2 page →Check a claim about this →
NAD+No changeGrade B

Studies of NAD+ found no change in hs-CRP.

Human trials · 1 study linked

Studied in: Adults overweight obese, European finnish

Faecalibacterium increase was negatively associated with hs-CRP change (indirect anti-inflammatory signal)

Open the NAD+ page →Check a claim about this →

Mixed results2

Studies disagree, or the direction depends on who was studied.

ResveratrolMixed resultsGrade A

Studies of Resveratrol and hs-CRP disagree.

Meta-analysis or review · 43 studies linked

Studied in: Mixed, Adults, Inflammatory conditions

See pc_rsv_002 for population caveat.

Open the Resveratrol page →Check a claim about this →
Zone 2 cardioMixed resultsGrade A

Studies of Zone 2 cardio and hs-CRP disagree.

Meta-analysis or review · 3 studies linked

Studied in: Adults overweight obese

Vella 2017 RCT (n=17, energy-equated, 8 wks): MICT reduced CRP while HIIT increased it — between-group p<0.05. Interpretation: MICT may produce earlier anti-inflammatory adaptation; short-term HIIT in obese individuals may represent acute inflammatory stimulus before chronic adaptation occurs. Longer-duration HIIT s...

Open the Zone 2 cardio page →Check a claim about this →

Not studied2

No usable human study has measured hs-CRP with these. A gap is not a negative result: nobody has looked.

Lion's manePQQ

Commission research on a gap →

BThe molecule

Human C-reactive protein with phosphocholine

  1. Human C-reactive protein with phosphocholine, whole structure.

    01A ring of five identical subunits.

  2. Human C-reactive protein with phosphocholine, cut-away view.

    02Each carries two calcium ions and a bound phosphocholine.

  3. Human C-reactive protein with phosphocholine, close-up.

    03That pocket is how CRP recognizes damaged cells. The high-sensitivity test reads low-grade inflammation.

Structure: PDB 1B09 · X-ray 2.5 Å · Thompson, Pepys & Wood, 1999. Rendered from atomic coordinates in Blender; 8,225 atoms, about 11.5 nm across.

Why trials measure it. It is the most widely used blood marker of low-grade inflammation in diet and supplement trials.

About this marker: C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Test (MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine).

Evidence states come from published human studies found in PubMed and OpenAlex and read by a model pipeline. "Not studied" means no usable human study was found for this marker, which is a gap, not a negative result. Every result links its studies so you can check it.

Research summary for education. Not medical advice.