Oral vitamin E supplementation on oxidative stress, vitamin and antioxidant status in intensely exercised horses.
Abstract: Vitamin E is the most commonly supplemented antioxidant in horses; however, previous research is not conclusive as to the recommended level for exercising horses. Objective: To evaluate the effects of 3 levels of vitamin E supplementation on oxidative stress and vitamin/antioxidant status in intensely exercised horses to determine the optimal level of vitamin E supplementation. Methods: Twelve unfit Standardbreds were divided into 3 groups, supplemented orally with 0 (CON), 5000 (MOD), or 10,000 (HI) iu/day of DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. The 3 x 3 Latin square design consisted of three 4 week supplementation periods with 4 week wash out periods between. After each period, horses underwent a treadmill interval exercise test. Blood samples were collected and heart rate (HR) measured before, during and after exercise. Data were analysed using ANOVA with repeated measures in SAS. Results: The CON group had lower HR throughout the test compared to the MOD and HI groups (P<0.05). There was an increase in plasma retinol (RET), beta-carotene (BC), red blood cell total glutathione and glutathione peroxidase with exercise (P<0.05), but all groups returned to baseline after 24 h. Plasma alpha-tocopherol (TOC) increased from baseline with exercise (P<0.0001) in all groups; treatment differences were observed at 24 h (P<0.05). The HI and CON groups had lower BC compared to the MOD group (P = 0.05). Conclusions: Horses supplemented with vitamin E, at nearly 10-times the 1989 NRC recommended level, did not experience lower oxidative stress compared to control horses. Additionally, lower plasma BC levels observed in the HI group, which may indicate that vitamin E has an inhibitory effect on BC metabolism. Conclusions: Supplementation above control levels is not more beneficial to oxidative stress and antioxidant status in intensely exercising horses; indeed, levels 10 times in excess may be detrimental to BC and should be avoided.
Publication Date: 2007-04-04 PubMed ID: 17402493DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2006.tb05614.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This study investigates the effects of various levels of vitamin E supplementation on the oxidative stress and antioxidant health of vigorously exercised horses. The main finding is that excessively high vitamin E supplementation, nearly 10 times the recommended level, doesn’t reduce horses’ oxidative stress and could potentially inhibit beneficial processes involving beta-carotene.
Research Context and Objective
- Vitamin E is the most frequently provided antioxidant supplement for horses. However, there is no definitive consensus on the optimal level of this vitamin for horses that undergo intensive exercise.
- This research aimed to analyze the impacts of three different levels of oral vitamin E supplementation on both oxidative stress and vitamin/antioxidant status in strenuously exercised horses. The ultimate goal was to ascertain the best level of vitamin E supplementation.
Methodology
- Twelve unfit Standardbred horses were divided into three groups. They received either no supplementation (CON group), moderate supplementation (MOD group, 5000 iu/day), or high supplementation (HI group, 10,000 iu/day) of DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate–a form of Vitamin E.
- The study was structured using a 3×3 Latin square design, which comprised three separate four-week supplementation periods followed by four-week ‘wash-out’ periods.
- After each supplementation period, horses underwent treadmill interval exercise tests. Blood samples were taken, and heart rates were measured before, during, and post-exercise.
- The collected data were analysed using the ANOVA testing method with repeated measures in SAS.
Results
- The study found that the CON group had a lower heart rate throughout the exercise test compared to the MOD and HI groups.
- Exercise led to an increase in plasma retinol, beta-carotene, red blood cell total glutathione, and glutathione peroxidase across all groups. However, all these levels returned to their baseline status after 24 hours.
- Exercise also led to increased levels of plasma alpha-tocopherol in all groups, with noticeable variations in treatment after 24 hours.
- It was found that the HI and CON groups had lower beta-carotene levels compared to the MOD group.
Conclusions
- The research concluded that horses, when given vitamin E supplements at a level nearly 10 times higher than the NRC-recommended level, did not show lower levels of oxidative stress compared to the control group horses.
- The HI group horses showed lower plasma beta-carotene levels, suggesting that high doses of vitamin E could inhibit beta-carotene metabolism.
- The study found that supplementation exceeding control levels is not more beneficial and can be potentially detrimental to the oxidative stress and antioxidant status in intensely exercised horses. Accordingly, extremely high vitamin E supplementation, especially those more than 10 times the control levels, should be avoided.
Cite This Article
APA
Williams CA, Carlucci SA.
(2007).
Oral vitamin E supplementation on oxidative stress, vitamin and antioxidant status in intensely exercised horses.
Equine Vet J Suppl(36), 617-621.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2006.tb05614.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Cook Campus, Department of Animal Science, 84 Lipman Drive, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Administration, Oral
- Analysis of Variance
- Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
- Animals
- Antioxidants / administration & dosage
- Antioxidants / metabolism
- Cross-Over Studies
- Dietary Supplements
- Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
- Exercise Test / veterinary
- Female
- Heart Rate / physiology
- Horses
- Nutritional Status
- Oxidative Stress / drug effects
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
- Vitamin E / administration & dosage
- Vitamin E / blood
- beta Carotene / antagonists & inhibitors
- beta Carotene / blood
- beta Carotene / metabolism
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Ott EC, Cavinder CA, Wang S, Smith T, Lemley CO, Dinh TTN. Oxidative stress biomarkers and free amino acid concentrations in the blood plasma of moderately exercised horses indicate adaptive response to prolonged exercise training. J Anim Sci 2022 Apr 1;100(4).
- Nemec Svete A, Vovk T, Bohar Topolovec M, Kruljc P. Effects of Vitamin E and Coenzyme Q(10) Supplementation on Oxidative Stress Parameters in Untrained Leisure Horses Subjected to Acute Moderate Exercise. Antioxidants (Basel) 2021 Jun 3;10(6).
- Lamprecht ED, Williams CA. Biomarkers of antioxidant status, inflammation, and cartilage metabolism are affected by acute intense exercise but not superoxide dismutase supplementation in horses. Oxid Med Cell Longev 2012;2012:920932.
- Filaire E, Massart A, Rouveix M, Portier H, Rosado F, Durand D. Effects of 6 weeks of n-3 fatty acids and antioxidant mixture on lipid peroxidation at rest and postexercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 2011 Aug;111(8):1829-39.
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