Effects of four weeks supplementation of vitamin C on total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde among inactive men after an eccentric exercise

Purpose: the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of four weeks supplementation of vitamin c on serum levels of total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde among inactive men after an eccentric exercise. materials and methods: twenty non-athletic healthy volunteer men (24 ± 1.6 years old, 22.59 ± 2.62 body fat percentage and 48.96 ± 3.58 ml/kg/min maximum oxygen uptake) were divided into two randomized groups, i.e. vitamin c (1000mg/day) and placebo groups. four particpants left the study before completion. after four weeks of supplementation, all participants participated in an intermittent aerobic exercise on a treadmill with 80% oxygen consumption (the negative slope of 10 degrees) and ran for 45 minutes. the first blood sample was taken before supplementation, a second blood sample after the end of supplementation period and the third sample immediately after the exercise. normalized data were analyzed using repeated measures by bonferroni t-test. analysis was done using for (spss) software version 21. results: the capacity for total antioxidant (p = .001) and malondialdehyde (p = .001) in sera were significant. four weeks of vitamin c supplementation also significantly increased the basic total antioxidant capacity. in addition, vitamin c was able to increase the antioxidant capacity after exercise. conclusion: supplementation of vitamin c can increase the basic total antioxidant capacity. adverse changes in oxidative stress-induced activities can reduce damages by aerobic exercises in non-athletic men.