Potential roles for vitamins E and C in combination in modulating exhaustive swimming and high altitude-associated lung injury in rats.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and compare the potential role of vitamins E and C in protecting against acute swimming induced lung damage at different altitudes.

METHODS: The study was carried out between January and March 2011. Eighteen male rats were bred and reared at either high altitude in Abha city or low altitude in Riyadh city, KSA. The rats were divided into 3 groups: 1) non-stress control, 2) forced swimming stressed, and 3) vitamin E and C pretreated stressed. At the end of the procedure, lung tissue levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) were determined.

RESULTS: In control rats, the baseline levels of TBARS were significantly increased and the baseline levels of both GSH and SOD were significantly decreased in the lungs of animals at high altitude compared with those at low altitude. Acute forced swimming resulted a significant increase in TBARS levels and a significant decrease in activities of SOD and CAT in the lungs in both altitude areas, and resulted in a significant decrease in GSH levels at high altitude rats only as compared with the resting state. Supplementation of vitamins E and C in combination effectively ameliorated all the parameters measured at both altitudes.

CONCLUSIONS: Our novel observations suggest that supplementation of vitamins E and C could be beneficial against exhaustive swimming- and high altitude-associated lung injury.