Pharmaceutical Journal – Vitamin C may reduce lung inflammation in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), according to a new study published in the journal Nutrients. Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) noted that vitamin C may help patients better utilize and increase the accessibility of vitamin E in the body, which is an antioxidant found to reduce harmful inflammation.
“Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder associated with increased inflammation and, like many inflammatory diseases, is accompanied by large amounts of oxidative stress,” said study leader Maret Traber, OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute, in a Press release.
CF, which causes pneumonia and a buildup of mucus that blocks the airways, can affect more than 160,000 people worldwide. It is usually diagnosed in children 2 years of age and younger and affects 40,000 people in the United States alone. Although there has been follow-up care to reduce the severity and risk of complications, the average life span of a patient with CF is only 40 years.
CF patients would need to take more fat-soluble vitamins to achieve normal blood concentrations, according to Traber. Knowing this, the OSU researchers aimed to understand whether supplementing with vitamin C could make it easier for CF patients to use fat-soluble vitamins, particularly vitamin E. This, in turn, could reduce the increased oxidative stress accompanying inflammation.
“Low vitamin E levels plus high oxidative stress is a recipe for increased inflammation, which can contribute to a variety of negative health outcomes,” Traber said in a news release.
The patient had been taking vitamin C at a dose of 1000 mg/day for less than 4 weeks. The researchers looked at the main biomarker of oxidative stress, malondialdehyde (MDA) in the blood, and how long vitamin E was in the blood. What they noticed was lower MDA leverage in the blood and vitamin A remained concentrated in the blood for longer.
“Because vitamin E lasts longer, it may be able to enter tissue better and better protect cell membranes from oxidative stress,” Traber said in the release.
Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between free radicals and can be fatal because it can cause dangerous chemical reactions. To restore balance, the body releases antioxidants, which can make free radicals less reactive and possibly less harmful by donating electrons to stabilize them.
If patients with CF could better absorb and use the antioxidant vitamin E, they might have fewer free radicals and therefore less inflammation.
“This research uses far more vitamin C than a person can easily get from food,” she said.
“One thousand milligrams equals 15 oranges or four or five medium peppers. But research suggests that higher doses may be helpful in inflammatory conditions.” Close it.
Source
Oregon State University. Patients with cystic fibrosis may benefit from vitamin supplements, Oregon State research shows. Eurek Alert! September 28, 2022. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/966291.
