Antioxidant supplementation lowers exercise-induced oxidative stress in young overweight adults

To determine whether antioxidant (AOX) supplementation attenuates post-exercise oxidative stress and contributors to oxidative stress (inflammation, blood lipids) in overweight young adults.

This was a randomized, double-blind, controlled study. Overweight (BMI, 33.2 +/- 1.9 kg/m(2)) and comparative normal-weight (BMI, 21.9 +/- 0.5 kg/m(2)) adults 18 to 30 years old (total N = 48) were enrolled. Participants received either daily antioxidant (AOX) treatment (800 IU of vitamin E, 500 mg of vitamin C, 10 mg of beta-carotene) or placebo (PL) for 8 weeks for a total of four groups. All participants completed a standardized 30-minute cycle exercise bout at baseline and 8 weeks. Exercise-induced changes in lipid hydroperoxide (DeltaPEROX), C-reactive protein (DeltaCRP), interleukin-6 (DeltaIL-6), cholesterol subfractions, triglycerides, total AOX status (DeltaTAS), and adiponectin were assessed.

Exercise-induced DeltaPEROX was lower in the overweight-AOX group (0.09 nM/kg per min) compared with PL-treated overweight and normal-weight groups (0.98, 0.53 nM/kg per min) by 8 weeks (p < 0.05). Adiponectin was increased in both overweight and normal-weight AOX groups (22.1% vs. 3.1%; p < 0.05) but reduced in PL groups. DeltaIL-6, Deltatotal cholesterol, and Deltalow-density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrations during exercise were lower in the AOX-treated groups compared with PL groups (all p < 0.05). After controlling for BMI, the Deltatotal cholesterol, Deltalow-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, Deltaadiponectin, and DeltaTAS explained 59.1% of the variance of the regression model of the DeltaPEROX by 8 weeks (total model R(2) = 0.600; p = 0.015).

AOX lowers exercise-induced oxidative stress in overweight adults. Inflammatory and lipid markers may also be attenuated with AOX. Further studies are needed to determine whether AOX may be used in cardiovascular disease prevention in the overweight population.