Trial reportEuropean journal of nutrition2016
Low vitamin C values are linked with decreased physical performance and increased oxidative stress: reversal by vitamin C supplementation.
Trial report in European journal of nutrition, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03121222 (N-acetylcysteine Supplementation in Individuals With Low Glutathione Levels), which is not on this map. Cited by 49 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
N-acetylcysteine Supplementation in Individuals With Low Glutathione Levels: the Effects on Physical Performance and Redox Homeostasis
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of vitamin C on oxidative stress, inflammation, muscle soreness, and strength following acute exercise: meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials.European journal of nutrition · 2020Pooled it
- A Hot Water Extract ofNutrients · 2022Trial
- Capsaicin and Its Effect on Exercise Performance, Fatigue and Inflammation after Exercise.Nutrients · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Hot Water Extract ofNutrients · 2019Trial
- Additional Effects of Nutritional Antioxidant Supplementation on Peripheral Muscle during Pulmonary Rehabilitation in COPD Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2019Trial
- The modifying effect of vitamin C on the association between perfluorinated compounds and insulin resistance in the Korean elderly: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial.European journal of nutrition · 2016Trial
- International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: effects of dietary antioxidants on exercise and sports performance.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Review
- Eccentric Exercise and Muscle Damage: An Introductory Guide.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Review
- Insights into vitamin C in musculoskeletal physiology and disorders: mechanisms and translational perspectives.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Sex differences in nutrient gaps among active adults.Journal of nutritional science · 2026Article
- Optimal timing to assess exercise-induced oxidative stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Experimental physiology · 2025Review
- Reductive stress: The key pathway in metabolic disorders induced by overnutrition.Journal of advanced research · 2025Review
- Review
- Combined Effects of Spirulina Liquid Extract and Endurance Training on Aerobic Performance and Muscle Metabolism Adaptation in Wistar Rats.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Impact of vitamin C deficiency on imaging patterns and ventilatory function in pulmonary tuberculosis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Oxidative Stress in Military Missions-Impact and Management Strategies: A Narrative Analysis.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Association between composite dietary antioxidant index and migraine in American young women: insights from NHANES 1999-2004 cross-sectional data.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
- Article
- Skeletal muscle and erythrocyte redox status is associated with dietary cysteine intake and physical fitness in healthy young physically active men.European journal of nutrition · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeIt has been suggested that part of the failure of antioxidant supplementation to reduce oxidative stress and promote health is that it has been administered in humans with normal levels of antioxidants.
methodsTo test this hypothesis, we screened 100 males for vitamin C baseline values in blood. Subsequently, the 10 individuals with the lowest and the 10 with the highest vitamin C values were assigned in two groups. Using a placebo-controlled crossover design, the 20 selected subjects performed aerobic exercise to exhaustion (oxidant stimulus) before and after vitamin C supplementation for 30 days.
resultsThe low vitamin C group had lower VO2max values than the high vitamin C group. Vitamin C supplementation in this group marginally increased VO2max. Baseline concentration of F2-isoprostanes and protein carbonyls was higher in the low vitamin C group compared to the high vitamin C group. Vitamin C supplementation decreased the baseline concentration of F2-isoprostanes and protein carbonyls in both groups, yet the decrease was greater in the low vitamin C group. Before vitamin C supplementation, F2-isoprostanes and protein carbonyls were increased to a greater extent after exercise in the high vitamin C group compared to the low vitamin C group. Interestingly, after vitamin C supplementation, this difference was narrowed.
conclusionWe show for the first time that low vitamin C concentration is linked with decreased physical performance and increased oxidative stress and that vitamin C supplementation decreases oxidative stress and might increase exercise performance only in those with low initial concentration of vitamin C.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.