Objectives: After delivery and birth, mothers and neonates are exposed to oxidative stress. The present study examined the effect of supplementation of the diet of breastfeeding mothers with vitamin C and E to improve the antioxidant content of breastmilk and evidence of antioxidant activity in infant urine. Subjects and Methods: The subjects were 60 healthy lactating breastfeeding mothers and their infants 1-6 months of age. They were randomly allocated to a control group (n = 30) consuming a free diet or an experimental group (n = 30) consuming a free diet supplemented each day with effervescent tablets of vitamin C (500 mg) and chewable tablets of vitamin E (100 IU). After 30 days, the total antioxidant content of the mothers' breastmilk and evidence of antioxidant activity in the infants' urine were measured by the ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay. The free radical scavenging activity of the urine samples was measured by the a,a-diphenyl-b-picrylhydrazyl method. Differences pre-and postintervention were compared within and between the groups. Results: Significantly higher levels of antioxidants in the breastmilk (610 -295.5 to 716 -237.5 lmol/L) and infant urine (43.2 -21.8 to 75.0 -49.2 lmol/mg creatinine) were observed in the experimental group over the control group ( p < 0.05). A significant increase in evidence of free radical scavenging in infant urine was observed in the experimental group after 30 days of supplementation by mothers ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: Consumption of vitamin C and E supplements appears to have a positive effect on total antioxidant content of breastmilk and evidence of antioxidant activity in infant urine.
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