Given the central role of oxidative stress in age-related sarcopenia, a 12-week randomized and double-blind placebo-controlled trial (recently published in Medicine (Baltimore)) evaluated whether supplementation with vitamins C and E had any additional benefit compared to placebo, when used in conjunction with resistance exercise. Sixty women between the ages of 60 and 75 with sarcopenia, defined as a Skeletal Muscle Mass Index (SMI) < 5.4 kg/m² as well as low grip strength and/or low physical performance, received either placebo or 1000 mg of vitamin C and 335 mg of vitamin E (DL-α-tocopherol) per day.
All women participated in a full-body resistance training program, including three sessions per week with qualified exercise instructors, using elastic bands for 50 minutes (not including 10 minutes of warm-up and 10 minutes of cool-down). On training days, half the vitamin C dose was given 1-3 hours before training, with the remaining dose and vitamin E given in the hour after training. Notably, at baseline, all women had inadequate serum vitamin C (<50 μmol/L) levels, and 57% had inadequate vitamin E (<20 μmol/L), though this was not an inclusion criteria.
After 12 weeks, the group receiving antioxidants had significant improvements in several of the primary outcomes measured, including lean arm mass (measured by DXA), SMI, handgrip strength, and knee extension strength. Improvements in serum antioxidants (increase in glutathione and GSH/GSSG) as well as decreases in malondialdehyde and IL-6 were also noted with vitamin supplementation. While it is unclear if the benefits observed in this study would also apply to men or people with higher serum vitamin levels, the results of the first published study evaluating vitamins C & E supplementation for women with sarcopenia are encouraging.