Effect of antioxidant vitamins on the exercise performance of rats

Objective To investigate the effect of antioxidant vitamins (vitamin E and vitamin C) on the exercise performance of rats. Methods Fifty male SD rats were randomly divided into control group (C), exhausting exercise control group (E), vi-tamin E group (M1), vitamin C group (M2) and vitamin E plus vitamin C group (M3). The rats in the exercising groups (E, M1, M2, M3) were propelled for repeated exhausting runs on the treadmill for 4 weeks. Results Exclusive use of oral vitamin E or in combination with vitamin C significantly improved the body mass, total exercise treadmill length and net mass of rat quadriceps femoris after the 4-week exercise. No difference was noted between the rats taking oral vitamin C or E alone. The rats in M1, M2 and M3 groups had lower malondialdehyde (MDA) and free calcium content in the quadriceps femoris than the control rats, and SOD activities in the quadriceps femoris mitochondria of rats in the former 3 groups were significantly higher than those of the control group. Conclusions Vitamin E can protect the mitochondria in the skeletal muscles and im-prove the exercise performance of rats, the effect of which can be enhanced by vitamin C, but vitamin C alone can not suffi-ciently achieve the effects.