Relationships of Plasma Homocysteine Concentration and Oxidative Stress Markers in Korean Collage Students

Elevated plasma concentration of total homocysteine (ptHcy) is known as an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and oxidative stress is also commonly implicated in CVD. An association between ptHcy and oxidative stress has recently been suggested. The study objective is to examine the relationship between ptHcy and oxidative stress markers in 103 healthy college students (62 males and 41 females). Plasma levels of ptHcy, oxidative stress markers (conjugated diene, erythrocyte catalase, TRAP, lymphocyte DNA damage), antioxidant vitamins (alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, carotenoids), and lipid parameters (total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol) were determined. The results show that the concentration of ptHcy was significantly higher in male subjects (22.17 +/- 2.14 micromole/L) than in female subjects (12.28 +/- 0.45 micromole/L). There was a negative association between ptHcy and plasma beta-carotene in male subjects (p or = 15 micromol/L), as compared to those with lower plasma homocysteine. These study results confirmed the views on the association between plasma homocysteine and oxidative stress markers in humans and support the hypothesis that homocysteine promotes the oxidative environment by counteracting the antioxidant defense mechanism.

The Effect of Alpha-tocopherol Supplementation on the Improvement of Antioxidant Status and Lymphocyte DNA Damage in Postmenopausal Women

The purpose of this project was to evaluate whether vitamin E supplementation could improve the antioxidant status and lymphocyte DNA damage in Korean postmenopausal women. This was double blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Thirty-five subject were randomized to receive either placebo 400 mg/capsule or natural alpha-tocopherol 400 IU/capsule, 2 times a day for 6 weeks. We measured plasma vitamin C, alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, alpha-carotenoid, beta-carotenoid, lycopene concentration and tail length, %DNA in tail, tail moment in lymphocyte DNA damage index. Vitamin E supplementation group had significantly increased plasma vitamin C (p < 0.05), alpha-tocopherol (p < 0.000), whereas gamma-tocopherol (p < 0.000) and tail length (p < 0.05) were significantly decreased. However, placebo supplementation group also had significantly increased plasma vitamin C (p < 0.05). In conclusion, our study shows that vitamin E supplementation to Korean postmenopausal women may partially improve antioxidant status and lymphocyte DNA damage.