The Effect of Vitamin C and E Supplementation on Muscle Damage and Oxidative Stress in Female Athletes: A Clinical Trial

Background: the need for energy in strenuous exercisesnecessitates an increase in oxygen consumption and production ofreactive oxygen species. it seems that supplementation of vitaminsc and e reduces exercise?induced oxidative stress. therefore, thisstudy aims to investigate the effects of vitamin c and e supplementationon muscle damage and oxidative stress in female athletes.methods: the study was a four?week randomized, double?blind clinicaltrial, conducted on 64 trained female athletes recruited in the isfahansports club. they were randomly assigned to one of the following fourgroups: (a) vitamin c (250 mg/day), (b) vitamin e (400 iu), (c) vitaminc + vitamin e, and the control (placebo). aspartate transaminase (ast),creatine kinase (ck), and lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) for assessingmuscle damage, and malondialdehyde, were measured before and afterthe intervention.results: in the between?groups comparison, only creatine kinasesignificantly changed at the end of the period (p = 0.03). however, inthe intergroup comparison creatine kinase was significantly decreased ingroup 1 (p = 0.002). as for aspartate aminotransferase, no significantdifference was spotted in any of the comparisons. lactate dehydrogenasewas significantly decreased in group 2 (p = 0.02). finally, this studyrevealed a significant decrease in oxidative stress markers in groups 1,3, and 4 (p < 0.05).conclusions: it is induced from the results that vitamin c and esupplementation plays a role in reducing muscle damage markers ofaerobic exercises.