1. ^*Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies, Charlottesville, Virginia.
2. ^†Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Departments of, Charlottesville, Virginia.
3. ^‡Human Services and Internal Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia.
4. ^§General Clinical Research Center, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Correspondence: Heather K. Vincent University of Virginia, Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies, P.O. Box 800905, The Blake Center, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0905. E-mail: hvincent@adelphia.net

^*The costs of publication of this article were defrayed, in part, by the payment of page charges. This article must, therefore, be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Received 17 March 2006; Accepted 21 August 2006.

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether antioxidant (AOX) supplementation attenuates post-exercise oxidative stress and contributors to oxidative stress (inflammation, blood lipids) in overweight young adults.

Research Methods and Procedures: This was a randomized, double-blind, controlled study. Overweight (BMI, 33.2 1.9 kg/m²) and comparative normal-weight (BMI, 21.9 0.5 kg/m²) adults 18 to 30 years old (total N = 48) were enrolled. Participants received either daily antioxidant (AOX) treatment (800 IU of vitamin E, 500 mg of vitamin C, 10 mg of -carotene) or placebo (PL) for 8 weeks for a total of four groups. All participants completed a standardized 30-minute cycle exercise bout at baseline and 8 weeks. Exercise-induced changes in lipid hydroperoxide (PEROX), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), cholesterol subfractions, triglycerides, total AOX status (TAS), and adiponectin were assessed.

Results: Exercise-induced PEROX was lower in the overweight-AOX group (0.09 nM/kg per min) compared with PL-treated overweight and normal-weight groups (0.98, 0.53 nM/kg per min) by 8 weeks (p < 0.05). Adiponectin was increased in both overweight and normal-weight AOX groups (22.1% vs. 3.1% ; p < 0.05) but reduced in PL groups. IL-6, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrations during exercise were lower in the AOX-treated groups compared with PL groups (all p < 0.05). After controlling for BMI, the total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, adiponectin, and TAS explained 59.1% of the variance of the regression model of the PEROX by 8 weeks (total model R² = 0.600; p = 0.015).

Discussion: AOX lowers exercise-induced oxidative stress in overweight adults. Inflammatory and lipid markers may also be attenuated with AOX. Further studies are needed to determine whether AOX may be used in cardiovascular disease prevention in the overweight population.