Effect of Zinc and Vitamin E on Blood Testosterone and Inflammatory Markers in Male Patients Undergoing Heart Surgery
Javad Nasrollahzadeh1, Elham Makiabadi1, Mohammad Reza Shahparvari1
1Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Background:
Zinc and vitamin E affect the metabolism of testosterone and inflammatory factors. We aimed to evaluate the effect of zinc and vitamin E supplementation on plasma testosterone levels and inflammatory markers in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
Methods:
This study was a secondary analysis of a previously published randomized controlled trial in a subsample of male patients undergoing CABG surgery. Patients in the zinc-vitamin E group (n = 27) received oral zinc (120 mg) and vitamin E (1200 international units) one day prior to surgery, followed by 30 mg of zinc and 200 units of vitamin E per day for three weeks after surgery. Patients in the control group (n = 25) received a placebo. Plasma levels of total testosterone, cortisol, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and white blood cell toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) gene expression were determined at three-day and three-week intervals following surgery. Changes in these markers were analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Results:
A comparison of the groups revealed no significant difference in the concentration of plasma total testosterone levels (P = 0.059) or cortisol. Three weeks following the surgical procedure, a positive correlation was observed between the change in plasma zinc concentrations and the change in plasma testosterone levels (r = 0.32; P = 0.025). The administration of zinc and vitamin E supplements resulted in a reduction in plasma IL-6 levels on postoperative day 3 (P = 0.025), while no significant effect was observed in week 3 (P = 0.091). The expression of the TLR-4 gene in WBCs was found to be lower in the zinc-vitamin E group compared to the placebo group on day 3 (P = 0.051) and week 3 (P = 0.025).
Conclusions:
The administration of zinc and vitamin E to patients undergoing CABG was associated with a relative improvement in postoperative inflammatory markers. Plasma zinc levels demonstrated a correlation with testosterone levels, suggesting a potential avenue for further research in these patients.
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