Effects of eicosapentaenoic acid and vitamin C on glycemic indices, blood pressure, and serum lipids in type 2 diabetic Iranian males

Background: eicosapentaenoic acid (epa) is the principal ω-3 fatty acids in marine oils. fasting blood sugar (fbs), hba1c and some of the plasma lipids and lipoproteins has been negatively related to the intake of ω-3 fatty acids and ascorbic acid, in some studies. therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of epa and/or vitamin c on glycemic indices, blood pressure, and plasma lipids in type 2 diabetic iranian males. methods: sixty five men with type 2 diabetes were enrolled into the study between april 2 and june 27, 2008. venous blood samples were obtained from all participants after 10 hours of fasting, at the baseline and after the intervention. subjects received 500 mg epa and/or 200 mg vitamin c and/or placebo depending on their groups. for eight weeks, 15 participants received epa supplements with vitamin c (group 1), 16 took epa supplements and vitamin c placebo (group 2), 17 took epa placebo and vitamin c (group 3), and 17 received epa placebo and vitamin c placebo (group 4), daily. results: there were significant decreases in fbs, hba1c, ldl-c and tg in groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 (p < 0.01), but significant decreases in tc were shown only in groups 1, 2 and 3 (p < 0.01). there was a significant increase in hdl-c in all groups (p < 0.01). conclusions: in summary, it is concluded that, eight weeks of taking epa + vitamin c supplementation improved the plasma levels of cardiovascular markers but didn't reduce bp.