Table 4.

T lymphocytes and their apoptosis in children with SLE before and after royal jelly supplementation and the controls

	SLE patients before RJ supplementation (20)	SLE patients after RJ supplementation (20)	Controls (20)	pa	pb	pc
CD4 T lymphocytes	31.06±1.23	37.48±1.54	46.47±2.85	0.002	0.008	0.023
CD8 T lymphocytes	29.11±1.42	28.54±0.92	31.12±1.12	NS	NS	NS
CD4/CD8 ratio	1.25±0.06	1.53±0.09	1.69±0.107	0.001	0.02	NS
Apoptotic CD4 T lymphocytes	32.35±3.75	8.45±0.23	8.09±0.26	0.001	0.018	NS
Apoptotic CD8 T lymphocytes	9.53±0.47	9.31±0.41	8.29±0.40	NS	NS	NS

Data are represented as means±SD. P≤0.05 is significant.

NS, not significant; RJ, royal jelly; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus;

^aSLE patients before RJ supplementation versus controls (Mann–Whitney U-test)

^bSLE patients before RJ supplementation versus SLE patients after RJ supplementation (Wilcoxon test)

^cSLE patients after RJ supplementation versus controls (Mann–Whitney U-test).