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Antioxidants do not prevent postexercise peroxidation and may delay muscle recovery
Vitor H Teixeira1, Hugo F Valente, Susana I Casal
1Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Potugal. vhugoteixeira@fcna.up.pt
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|August 7, 2009
Summary
Antioxidant (AOX) supplementation did not protect kayakers from exercise-induced inflammation or lipid peroxidation. It may also impede muscle damage recovery, suggesting AOX is not beneficial for athletes.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Exercise Physiology
- Nutritional Biochemistry
Background:
- Exercise can induce oxidative stress, muscle damage, and inflammation.
- Antioxidants (AOX) are often supplemented to mitigate these effects in athletes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of a 4-week antioxidant (AOX) supplementation on exercise-induced lipid peroxidation, muscle damage, and inflammation in kayakers.
Main Methods:
- Twenty kayakers were randomized to receive either a placebo (PLA) or an antioxidant (AOX) capsule for 4 weeks.
- Blood samples were analyzed for various biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and muscle damage before and after a 1000-m kayak race, both pre- and post-supplementation.
Main Results:
- Antioxidant supplementation increased plasma alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene levels.
- Exercise consistently elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and uric acid.
- While total antioxidant status (TAS) improved in the AOX group post-supplementation, creatine kinase (CK) levels, indicative of muscle damage, increased post-exercise in both groups.
Conclusions:
- Antioxidant supplementation does not appear to protect against exercise-induced lipid peroxidation and inflammation in kayakers.
- The findings suggest that AOX supplementation may potentially hinder muscle damage recovery.
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