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01Markers · Inflammation

IL-6

Interleukin-6

A cytokine, a signaling protein made by immune cells, fat tissue and working muscle, that helps start the inflammatory response and prompts the liver to make CRP.

Measured in
Blood (serum or plasma)
Units
pg/mL
Also called
IL6, interleukin 6
A compact bundle of protein, interleukin-6, rendered in bone white.
Human interleukin-6 · PDB 1ALU

AWhat moves IL-6

26 of 27 studied

In human studies, 20 of the 27 supplements and practices researched so far lowered IL-6. 3 showed no change and 3 had mixed results. 1 was never studied for it.
  • Supported 20
  • No effect 3
  • Conflicting 3
  • Not studied 1
See IL-6 on the evidence map →Check claims about IL-6 →

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 IL-6.

46 studies linked

Studied in: General adult, Metabolic syndrome, Cardiovascular risk, Healthy adults

IL-6 −0.52 pg/mL (p=0.004) in cardiometabolic-risk populations (MA_INFLAM_GUO_2019). Null in healthy adults (cormier_2016). Baseline-dependent effect.

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Vitamin ELowersGrade A

Vitamin E lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 25 studies linked

Studied in: NAFLD, Metabolic syndrome, Adult

WMD −0.68 pg/mL (95% CI −1.24 to −0.12) from VE-MA-005; I²=69%. NF-κB mechanism supports direction but heterogeneity limits confidence.

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HIITLowersGrade A

HIIT lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · 21 studies linked

Studied in: Overweight obese, T2DM, Metabolic syndrome, Children adolescents

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L-carnitineLowersGrade A

L-carnitine lowers IL-6.

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

Studied in: General adult, T2DM, CKD

Corpus coverage moderate; effect direction consistent with NF-κB suppression mechanism but magnitude varies substantially by population and dose

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MagnesiumLowersGrade A

Magnesium lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 19 studies linked

Studied in: Metabolic syndrome, T2DM

Limited trial base (n=6); borderline significance; replication with powered trials required

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Vitamin CLowersGrade A

Vitamin C lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · 19 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, Elevated inflammatory state, Mixed cardiometabolic

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BerberineLowersGrade A

Berberine lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · 14 studies linked

Studied in: Metabolic syndrome, T2DM, Predominantly Chinese

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CreatineLowersGrade A

Creatine lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 14 studies linked

Studied in: Healthy adults, Athletes, Older adults

de Camargo 2026 MA confirms IL-6 reduction. Corpus coverage: 44 studies. Mechanistically attributable to reduced exercise-induced muscle damage (via PCr ATP buffering) and indirect ROS reduction (mech_cr_010). Exercise co-intervention confounding applies.

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TaurineLowersGrade A

Taurine lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · 11 studies linked

Studied in: Inflammatory conditions, Type 2 diabetes, Adults

71 corpus studies. In-vitro data (quarantined nagaoka_2022) should NOT be cited; MA-level evidence exists independently. Note: il6 entry with quarantined nagaoka_2022 source should be superseded by this entry.

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Milk thistleLowersGrade A

Milk thistle lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · Moderate effect · 9 studies linked

Studied in: NAFLD, NASH, Chronic liver disease, Animal models

Approximately −0.52 SMD. Human IL-6 data sparser than TNF-α. Demonstrated in NASH RCTs as secondary outcome. NF-κB inhibition mechanistically links to IL-6 suppression. See pc_016 re: animal study predominance.

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Ubiquinol (CoQ10)LowersGrade A

Ubiquinol (CoQ10) lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · 8 studies linked

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

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MelatoninLowersGrade A

Melatonin lowers IL-6.

Moderate effect · 3 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, Metabolic syndrome, T2DM, NAFLD

Replicated across two independent MAs; moderate heterogeneity (I²≈55%); ICU/critical illness subgroup contributes outsized effect; effect present but attenuated in metabolic-only subgroups

  • Cho M et al. (2021)
  • Zarezadeh M et al. (2022)
  • Hallaji Z et al. (2023)
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NACLowersGrade A

NAC lowers IL-6.

Human trials · Moderate effect · 2 studies linked

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

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Vitamin D3LowersGrade A

Vitamin D3 lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · 1 study linked

Studied in: Deficient baseline, Metabolic syndrome

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ZincLowersGrade B

Zinc lowers IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · 9 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, T2D, Metabolic syndrome, Global

IL-6 reduction directionally consistent but heterogeneous. Studies with longer duration (>8 weeks) show larger effects. High baseline IL-6 variability complicates pooled estimates. Most trials from Iran.

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Red yeast riceLowersGrade B

Red yeast rice lowers IL-6.

Human trials · 5 studies linked

Studied in: NAFLD, Hyperlipidemia, Chinese

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AshwagandhaLowersGrade B

Ashwagandha lowers IL-6.

Human trials · 3 studies linked

Studied in: Preclinical models primary, Stressed adults limited human

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L-theanineLowersGrade B

L-theanine lowers IL-6.

Human trials · 2 studies linked

Studied in: No human data

Despite 22 corpus studies, all appear to be animal/in-vitro or green tea mixture studies. No pure L-theanine human IL-6 endpoint data extracted.

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PQQLowersGrade C

PQQ lowers IL-6.

Lab or animal studies · 2 studies linked

Studied in: Swine, Animal model, Not human, Intestinal tissue

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Lion's maneLowersGrade C

Lion's mane lowers IL-6.

Lab or animal studies · 1 study linked

Studied in: In vitro murine, Neuroinflammation model, No human data, Commercial coi

COI: Grape King Bio Ltd. co-author (commercial H. erinaceus producer). In vitro concentration (2.5 µM erinacine C) may not be physiologically achievable after oral supplementation — PK data absent. Human clinical IL-6 data: none extracted from any RCT in corpus.

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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 IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · 9 studies linked

Studied in: CKD, IBD

IL-6 not reduced by iron supplementation. IL-6 is the primary upstream driver of hepcidin via JAK2/STAT3. Iron does not modulate IL-6 production.

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Vitamin K2No changeGrade A

Studies of Vitamin K2 found no change in IL-6.

Meta-analysis or review · 4 studies linked

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

Consolidated IL6 and il_6 entries. Shea 2008 (K1, n=379, 3yr): null (p=0.61) despite robust ucOC reduction. 14 studies reference IL-6 but primarily in-vitro. Cross-sectional associations confounded by dietary quality.

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NAD+No changeGrade B

Studies of NAD+ found no change in IL-6.

Human trials · 1 study linked

10 corpus studies mention IL-6 but no full-text enrichment performed. Preclinical data suggests decrease via SIRT1-NF-κB deacetylation. Human confirmation needed.

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Mixed results3

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

ResveratrolMixed resultsGrade A

Studies of Resveratrol and IL-6 disagree.

Meta-analysis or review · 60 studies linked

Studied in: Mixed, Adults

See il6 entry for detail. Merged: il_6 and il6 refer to same biomarker.

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Finnish saunaMixed resultsGrade B

Studies of Finnish sauna and IL-6 disagree.

Observational · 4 studies linked

Studied in: Heart failure, Japanese population, General adult

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Zone 2 cardioMixed resultsGrade B

Studies of Zone 2 cardio and IL-6 disagree.

Human trials · 3 studies linked

Studied in: Adults overweight obese

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Not studied1

No usable human study has measured IL-6 with these. A gap is not a negative result: nobody has looked.

Collagen

Commission research on a gap →

BThe molecule

Human interleukin-6

Second view: IL-6 (light) bound to its two receptors (darker), PDB 1P9M (Boulanger et al., Science 2003).
Human interleukin-6, bound to its two receptors.
With its two receptors · PDB 1P9M

IL-6 (light) signals by pairing with two receptor proteins (darker): the IL-6 alpha receptor and gp130.

Structure: PDB 1ALU · X-ray, 1.9 Å · Somers, Stahl & Seehra, EMBO J 1997. Rendered from atomic coordinates in Blender; 1,248 atoms, about 5.3 nm across.

Why trials measure it. Trials measure it to see whether an intervention changes inflammatory signaling upstream of CRP.

About this marker: IL-6 in Inflammation, Immunity, and Disease (PubMed Central, 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.