Effect of Vitamin A, C and zinc Supplementations on Oxidant-Antioxidant and Clinical Indices in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Randomized Control Trial

oxygen free radicals have been implicated as mediators of tissue damage in RA patients. This study was aimed to find the effects of vitamin A, C and zinc supplementations on oxidant–antioxidant, inflammatory and clinical indices in inactive RA patients.

We designed a randomized controlled trial. Forty nine (49) patients were randomly allocated in two groups; group I received their conventional treatment plus 300 mg vitamin C, 5 mg Zinc daily and 25000 IU vitamin A every other day for 12 weeks, group II received their conventional treatment only for the same duration. Disease activity (using the rheumatoid arthritis disease activity index (RADAI) score), biochemical indices [malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC)] and inflammatory markers [erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), c-reactive protein (CRP)] was evaluated before and after 12 weeks.

Serum concentration of MDA and RADAI score (P<0.0001) and ESR (P=0.033) were significantly decreased and TAC levels (P<0.0001) were significantly increased in the first group in comparison to second group after 12 weeks. However, there were no statistically significant differences in serum CRP concentration of two groups (P>0.05).

This study indicates that adding antioxidants as supplementations with conventional medications in inactive RA patients plays an important role in improving oxidative stress and decreasing disease activity and inflammatory status.