Lee Swanson Research Update

Vitamins C and E Reduce Oxidative Stress in Crohn's Disease Patients

December 2003

Previous work carried out at the University of Toronto and the Toronto General Hospital has shown that Crohn's disease (CD) patients are under increased oxidative stress and have lower antioxidant levels than do healthy controls. Now the medical researchers involved in this early work report that daily supplementation with vitamin C and vitamin E reduces the level of oxidative stress and substantially increases antioxidant levels in CD patients.

The clinical trial involved 57 CD patients with stable, inactive or mildly active disease. The subjects received a placebo or 800 IU of vitamin E, plus 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily for a four-week period. At the completion of the supplementation period, participants were tested for levels of antioxidants and degree of oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress was measured by breath pentane and ethane output, plasma lipid peroxides, and F2-isoprostane levels. The patients also completed a seven-day dietary record and were advised regarding their intake of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

After four weeks the average plasma level of vitamin C was 90 micromol/L in the supplemented patients versus only 57 micromol/L in the placebo group. Corresponding values for vitamin E were 69 micromol/L and 25 micromol/L respectively. Breath pentane and ethane output, plasma lipid peroxides and plasma isoprostane levels were also significantly reduced in the vitamin group over the four-week period.

In reporting their results, researchers stated, "during supplementation, plasma vitamin C and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) increased and all indices of oxidative stress decreased significantly." They concluded, "vitamin E and C supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in oxidative stress. This suggests that patients with inactive or mildly active CD can be oxidatively stressed and have increased requirement in antioxidant vitamins."

American Journal of Gastroenterology 98(2):348-353, 2003

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