Effects of vitamin C and exercise on lipid profile, platelet and erythrocyte indices in young soccer players.

AIM: Exercise may increase production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) enhancing oxidative stress. Antioxidants can efficiently scavenge ROS before they initiate oxidative damage of biomolecules such as enzymes, nucleic acids, lipids and lipoproteins in the body. Vitamin C, an important antioxidant, may affect oxidative stress in living organism. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the effects of exercise and vitamin C on thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS), lipid profile, erythrocyte and platelet indices in young soccer players. METHODS: This investigation was carried out on twenty two male volunteer players in three groups. The first group was examined as a control. The second group was only exposed to exercise. The third group was exposed to exercise plus vitamin C (500 mg/day) administered per oral. The players were 23.50±0.59 year-old, 67.66±1.52 kg body weight and 1.74±0.03 m height. Blood samples were collected in vacutainer tubes for analysis of biochemical and hematological parameters. RESULTS: While the levels of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were significantly increased (P<0.05) with only exercise, the cholesterol and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were decreased (P<0.05 to P<0.01) with exercise and exercise plus vitamin C treatment. While TBARS levels were increased (P<0.05) with exercise training, it was decreased (P<0.05) with exercise plus vitamin C treatment. The platelet counts (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), plateletcrit (PCT) and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) were significantly decreased (P<0.05) with exercise plus vitamin C. There were significantly correlations (P<0.05 to P<0.01) between lipid values and erythrocyte and platelet indices. CONCLUSION: In light of these results, exercise may play a role in decreasing of LDL-C and in increasing of HDL-C. In addition, exercise plus vitamin C may diminish TBARS-levels and may affect the values of PLT, MPV, PCT and RDW in young soccer players.

Effects of vitamin C on liver enzymes and biochemical parameters in rats anesthetized with halothane.

Halothane is an important human and veterinary anesthetic, which produces free radicals during biotransformation. Occasionally, these free radicals may cause hepatic injury, especially in case of multiple halothane exposures over short periods. Vitamin C may protect cellular lipids and lipoproteins against oxidative damage by the free radicals. This study investigated the effects of vitamin C on liver enzymes and other biochemical parameters in rats anesthetized with halothane. One group of rats was used as a control, and saline (0.9% NaCl) was injected intraperitoneally into these animals as a placebo. The second group of rats was used as an anesthesia control group and was only anesthetized by halothane for 2 h. The third group was anesthetized by halothane and injected vitamin C intraperitoneally. Activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase enzymes were significantly increased (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.05, respectively) by halothane anesthesia, but decreased (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, respectively) with administration of vitamin C. Concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol, total bilirubin and creatinine were statistically affected (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.05, and p < 0.01, respectively) by injection of vitamin C. Values of erythrocyte counts, packet cell volumes, hemoglobin concentration, leukocyte counts, rates of neutrophils and lymphocytes were significantly affected (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively) by halothane anesthesia. The values of erythrocyte counts, leukocyte counts, neutrophil and lymphocyte rates were significantly decreased (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively) with administration of vitamin C. Based upon these results, vitamin C may play an important role in the prevention of hepatic cellular injury inflicted by halothane anesthesia.

Effects of testosterone and vitamin E on the antioxidant system in rabbit testis.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of testosterone propionate and vitamin E on the antioxidant system in the testis. Thirty-two male New Zealand White rabbits were randomly divided into four groups. The first group was used as control. The second group was injected with testosterone propionate, the third group vitamin E and the fourth group vitamin E and testosterone propionate combination. All treatments were carried out during 6 weeks and oxidative parameters were evaluated in homogenized testicular tissue. The levels of vitamin E and the activity of glutathione peroxidase were lower (P < 0.05) in the testosterone group than in controls. However, vitamin C and malondialdehyde levels were higher (P < 0.05) in this group than in controls. The levels of reduced glutathione, beta-carotene, vitamin C and E increased, but malondialdehyde levels decreased in the vitamin E group, when compared with controls (P < 0.05). Vitamin E and beta-carotene levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the combination group than in testosterone group. However, MDA levels were lower (P < 0.05) in combination group than in the testosterone group. In conclusion, administration of testosterone propionate led to a significant elevation of oxidative stress. Vitamin E is quite an effective antioxidant which protects rabbit testis against lipid peroxidation, and, testosterone-induced lipid peroxidation could be improved by additional vitamin E treatment.

Plasma beta-carotene concentrations in pregnancies, newborn infants and their mothers.

Concentrations of beta-carotene were determined in maternal and fetal blood. The samples were collected from 33 mothers, their 33 newborns and 50 pregnant and 29 non-pregnant women. Beta-carotene concentrations of the non-pregnant, pregnant, newborn infant and their mothers were 140.31, 171.54, 63.57 and 175.74 micrograms/dl, respectively. There was a significant correlation (P < 0.001) between beta-carotene values of the maternal plasma and cord plasma. Mean maternal plasma beta-carotene concentration was higher (P < 0.0005) than that of the cord. These results suggest that plasma transport capacity of beta-carotene was low from mother to their fetus.

Effect of oral pyridoxine hydrochloride supplementation on arterial blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension.

The purpose of this study was to test the effect of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine-HCl, CAS 58-56-0) supplementation on arterial blood pressure in essential hypertension. The trial comprised 9 normotensive subjects (7 men and 2 women, aged between 32-58 years; mean +/- SD, 48 +/- 11) and 20 patients with essential hypertension (16 men and 4 women, aged between 32-69 years; mean +/- SD, 56 +/- 12). The patients were treated during 4 weeks with a single oral dose of pyridoxine (5 mg/kg body weight/day). After a 5-min rest, measurements were made in the supine position. When compared with the normotensive subjects, the hypertensive subject group had a significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.001) and higher level of plasma norepinephrine (NE) (p < 0.01) before pyridoxine treatment. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in plasma epinephrine (E) and heart rates. Treatment of hypertensive patients with pyridoxine significantly reduced systolic (p < 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.005), plasma NE (p < 0.005) and E (p < 0.05) within 4 weeks. However, there was no significant difference in heart rate at the end of pyridoxine treatment. These results indicate a relationship between pyridoxine status and arterial blood pressure in the essential hypertensive patients.