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Effects of Oral Vitamin C Supplementation on Anxiety in Students: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

DOI:10.3923/pjbs.2015.11.18
Authors:
Ivaldo Jesus Lima de Oliveira
Ivaldo Jesus Lima de Oliveira
Ivaldo Jesus Lima de Oliveira
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Victor Vasconcelos at National Institute of Study and Research in Education
Victor Vasconcelos
  • National Institute of Study and Research in Education
Vitor Motta
Vitor Motta
Vitor Motta
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Sergio Leme Da-Silva
Sergio Leme Da-Silva
Sergio Leme Da-Silva
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
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Abstract

Vitamin C ascorbic acid) is a well-known antioxidant that is involved in anxiety, stress, depression, fatigue and mood state in humans. Studies have suggested that oxidative stress may trigger neuropsychological disorders. Antioxidants may play an important therapeutic role in combating the damage caused by oxidative stress in individuals that suffer from anxiety. In this context, it was hypothesized that oral vitamin C supplementation would reduce anxiety. However, few up to date studies have evaluated the consequences of oral vitamin C supplementation on anxiety in humans. The present study examined the effects of oral vitamin C supplements in 42 high school students, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The students were given either vitamin C (500 mg day(-1)) or placebo. Plasma concentrations of vitamin C and blood pressure were measured before the intervention and then one day after the intervention. Anxiety levels were evaluated for each student before and after 14 days following supplementation with the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Results showed that vitamin C reduced anxiety levels and led to higher plasma vitamin C concentration compared to the placebo. The mean heart rates were also significantly different between vitamin C group and placebo control group. Present study results not only provide evidence that vitamin C plays an important therapeutic role for anxiety but also point a possible use for antioxidants in the prevention or reduction of anxiety. This suggests that a diet rich in vitamin C may be an effective adjunct to medical and psychological treatment of anxiety and improve academic performance.
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11-18.
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... In a recently published study from our laboratory the consumption of sodium benzoate at 125 mg/kg of feed was associated with an anxiogenic response in rodents [13]. The effect of dietary forti cation with ascorbic acid on anxiety has been studied severally [48][49][50][51].. In another study carried out in our laboratory, an anxiolytic effect was observed in animals that were fed ascorbic acid at 300 mg/kg of feed [40]. ...
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... The high intracellular concentration of vitamin C in neurons suggests its essential role in neuroprotection via its potent antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties [71]. As reviewed by Moritz et al. [72], vitamin C supplementation reduced anxiety indices in rodents [73][74][75][76] and humans [77,78], while reducing the ROS/RNS burden [73][74][75]. ...
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Full-text available
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Article
  • Oct 2013
The present study investigated the involvement of the PI3K, GSK-3β, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and mTOR in the antidepressant-like effect of ascorbic acid in the tail suspension test (TST). Male Swiss mice were pretreated with ascorbic acid (1 mg/kg, p.o.) or vehicle and 45 min after, LY294002 (10 μg/site, i.c.v., reversible PI3K inhibitor), rapamycin (0.2 nmol/site, i.c.v., selective mTOR inhibitor), zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP - 10 ng/site, i.c.v., HO-1 inhibitor) or vehicle was administered. We also investigated the synergistic effect of ascorbic acid (0.1 mg/kg, p.o., sub-effective dose in the TST) with lithium chloride (10 mg/kg, p.o., non-selective GSK-3β inhibitor), AR-A014418 (0.01 μg/site, i.c.v., selective GSK-3β inhibitor) or cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPP - 0.01 μg/site, i.c.v., HO-1 inducer) in the TST. The antidepressant-like effect of ascorbic acid (1 mg/kg, p.o.) was prevented by the treatment of mice with LY294002, rapamycin or ZnPP. In addition, sub-effective doses of lithium chloride, AR-A014418 or CoPP, combined with a sub-effective dose of ascorbic acid produced a synergistic antidepressant-like effect. We also demonstrated that 1 h after its administration, ascorbic acid increased the phosphorylation of p70S6K and the immunocontent of PSD-95 in the hippocampus of mice. These results indicate that the antidepressant-like effect of ascorbic acid in the TST might be dependent on the activation of PI3K and mTOR, inhibition of GSK-3β as well as induction of HO-1, reinforcing the notion that these are important targets for antidepressant activity and contributing to better elucidate the mechanisms underlying the antidepressant-like effect of ascorbic acid.
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Childhood anxiety: An early predictor of mood disorders in offspring of bipolar parents
Article
  • May 2013
BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are common among the offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (BD). This study investigated the nature of the association between anxiety disorders and mood disorders in a prospectively studied high-risk cohort. METHODS: High-risk offspring were identified from families in which one parent had confirmed BD based on SADS-L interviews and best estimate diagnostic procedures. All agreeable offspring aged 8-25 years were enrolled in a longitudinal study involving repeated KSADS-PL format clinical assessments. Control (C) offspring from families in which neither parent met lifetime criteria for a psychiatric disorder were similarly assessed. All DSM-IV diagnoses in the offspring were confirmed on blind consensus review. Cumulative incidence and adjusted Cox Proportional Hazards models were used to calculate the risk of anxiety disorders and the predictive association with mood disorders. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of anxiety disorders was higher (23.40% vs. 10.42%; HR=2.136; p=.0382) and occurred earlier (9.79 vs. 14.84 years; p=.0125) in high-risk compared to C offspring. In high-risk offspring generalized anxiety disorders (GAD) followed by social phobia were the most incident anxiety subtypes; while high emotionality (HR 1.111; p=.0096) and shyness (HR 1.144; p=.0053) increased the risk of anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders increased the adjusted risk of mood disorders (HR 2.166; p=.0004), on average 8.49 years later (SD 5.97). LIMITATIONS: The cumulative incidence of BD is relatively low, as the cohort is still in the period of risk. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the need for longitudinal surveillance of symptomatic high-risk children and suggest anxiety disorders are an important early intervention target.
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