Effects of Vitamins C and E Supplementation on Muscle Damage and Oxidative Stress in Female Athletes: A Double-Blind Clinical Trial

The need for energy in strenuous exercises necessitates increased oxygen consumption and hence increased production of reactive oxygen species. It seems that vitamins C and E supplementation reduces exercise-induced oxidative stress. Therefore، this study aimed to investigate the effects of vitamins C and E supplementation on muscle damage and oxidative stress in female athletes. This four-week randomized، double-blind clinical trial، recruited 64 trained female athletes from gyms in Isfahan، Iran. The subjects were randomly assigned to groups A-D and received vitamin C (250 mg/day)، vitamin E (400 international units)، both vitamins C and E، and placebo. Blood samples were obtained before and after the intervention to measure muscle damage indices، i. e. aspartate transaminase، creatine kinase، and lactate dehydrogenase، and malondialdehyde. Among muscle damage indices، only creatine kinase levels significantly reduced between groups at the end of the study (P = 0. 030). Considering within group differences، creatine kinase significantly decreased in group A (P = 0. 002). No within or between group differences were observed in aspartate aminotransferase levels. Lactate dehydrogenase levels were significantly decreased in group B (P = 0. 020). Significant reductions in malondialdehyde levels were also detected in groups A، C and D (P < 0. 05). According to our findings، vitamins C and E supplementation can be beneficial in reducing muscle damage indices during aerobic exercises.