Studies on antioxidant supplementation (Vitamin C) on the lipid profile of obese women

Abstract

Antioxidant is any substance that when present at low concentrations compared with those of an oxidizable substrate significantly delays or prevents oxidation of that substrate. Obesity is a complex, multifractional disorder characterized by an excess of adipose tissue to an extent that health may be adversely affected with hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, cardiovascular disorder, kidney disorders and diabetes. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of anti-oxidant supplementation (vitamin-C) on the lipid profile of obese women. Antioxidant activity level of guava and amla were 168 and 203. Hence these fruits were selected for supplementation to obese women. Information on socio-economic status, dietary habits, health status and knowledge of the groups regarding the use of vitamin C rich foods were collected from 30 subjects by using the designed questionnaire. Thirty obese women were divided into two groups of fifteen each. Obese women of group one served as control while group two served as the experimental group receiving 100g of guava and 100g of amla were given on alternative days for a period of 100 days. The initial bio-chemical parameters like serum cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, LDL and VLDL of the selected subjects were 209.133, 155.8, 44.66, 131.73 and 31.53mg/dl respectively. After supplementation of guava and amla the level of serum cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, LDL and VLDL were 205.86, 147.86, 48.93, 126.86 and 32.46mg/dl respectively. This study proved that vitamin C rich fruits have positive role on obese women.