title: Effect of ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol supplementations on serum leptin, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and serum amyloid A levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Diabetes mellitus Type 2 is one of the most widespread chronic metabolic diseases. In most cases, this type of diabetes is associated with alterations in levels of some inflammatory cytokines and hormones. Considering anti-inflammatory properties of plant extracts rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), anti-diabetic properties of these two well-known antioxidant vitamins were investigated through measurement of serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), insulin, leptin, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and serum amyloid A (SAA) in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male patients (n=80) were randomly divided into two groups each consisted of 40 subjects. Test groups were supplemented with ascorbic acid (1000 mg/day) or alpha-tocopherol (300 mg/day) orally during four weeks. Before and after treatment, serum biochemical factors of subjects were measured and compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results showed that both ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol could induce significant anti-inflammatory effects by decreasing the level of inflammatory factors such as TNF-α, SAA, and hs-CRP in diabetes mellitus type 2 patients. Effects of alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid in decreasing serum leptin level were similar. Ascorbic acid in contrast to alpha-tocopherol diminished fasting insulin and HOMA index but had no effect on LDL serum level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Concerning the obtained results, it is concluded that consumption of supplementary vitamins C and E could decrease induced inflammatory response in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2. It is also possible that vitamin C and vitamin E supplementation can attenuate incidence of some proposed pathological effects of diabetes mellitus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jamalan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rezazadeh
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zeinali
authors.affiliation: Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ghaffari
keywords: Alpha-tocopherol; Diabetes mellitus type 2 Ascorbic acid; Leptin; Serum amyloid A