Effects of n-acetyl cysteine consumption in conjunction with vitamin c on the markers of oxidative stress and inflammation during a single bout of exhaustive exercise in wistar rats

Introduction: The aim of this study was to find out the effect of combined N-Acetyl Cysteine and Vitamin C supplementation on oxidative markers during a single bout of exhaustive exercise in rats. Methods and Materials: In a randomized case control trial, thirty two healthy, untrained westar rats (8-10 week old and weight between 150- 200 grams) were divided into 4 groups. To the first group effervescent tablets was given (600 mg of N-acetyl cysteine) 4 h before the experiment. The second group received tablets of Vitamin C (500 mg).The third group received a combination of vitamin C and N-acetyl cysteine. The fourth group was taken as the control. The first blood samples were taken before the intervention, the second samples were collected 1 h before the exercise, third samples were collected immediately after the exhaustive exercise and the fourth blood samples were obtained after 1 h at rest. The concentrations of Malondialdehyde (MDA), CRP(C reactive protein) and Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were measured by spectrophothometric and ELISA techniques respectively. Then, oneway ANOVA and Tukey and Duncan tests were used to compare the groups and a P value of <0.05 was considered as significant. Results: A significant decrease was observed in the concentration of MDA immediately after the exhaustive exercise in the group consumed NAC as compared with the control(P ≤0.01). Also the blood levels of CRP was significantly decreased immediately after the exhaustive exercise in the group consumed NAC + VIT C (P ≤0.0).There was no change in the blood concentration of TAC during the study except in the NAC group and at 1 h after exhaustive exercise which was significantly decreased compared with the control groups (P≤0.006). Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that administration of nacetyl cystein orally and, at least 4 h before an exhaustive exercise can significantly reduce the harmful effects of oxidative stress in rats.