Study summary · research use only
Effects of chromium supplementation on oxidative stress biomarkers
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effects of chromium supplementation on oxidative stress biomarkers. Searches through July 2019 across PubMed/Medline, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar yielded 252 citations, from which 10 randomized clinical trials enrolling 595 subjects were included. The abstract reports that chromium supplementation was associated with a significant increase in glutathione (WMD: 64.79 mg/dl, 95% CI: 22.43 to 107.15; P=0.003), with no significant change in MDA, TAS, TBARS, SOD, CAT, or GPX. Chromium picolinate was associated with an increase in total antioxidant capacity but no significant change in nitric oxide, and both chromium picolinate and chromium dinicocysteinate were associated with reduced protein carbonyl levels.
Abstract
Aim: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of chromium supplementation on oxidative stress biomarkers such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant status (TAS), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), catalase (CAT), nitric oxide (NO), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and protein carbonyl. Methods: Relevant studies, published from inception until July 2019, were searched through PubMed/Medline, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar. All randomized clinical trials investigating the effect of chromium supplementation on oxidative stress were included. Results: Out of 252 citations, 10 trials that enrolled 595 subjects were included. Chromium supplementation resulted in a significant increase in GSH (WMD: 64.79 mg/dl, 95% CI: 22.43 to 107.15; P=0.003) but no significant change in MDA, TAS, TBARS levels, SOD, CAT levels and GPX. Chromium picolinate supplementation resulted in a significant increase in TAC while failing to have a significant effect on NO. Moreover, both chromium picolinate and chromium dinicocysteinate supplementation reduced protein carbonyl levels. Conclusion: Overall, this meta-analysis demonstrated that chromium supplementation increased GSH without any significant changes in the mean of GPX, MDA, TAS, TBARS, CAT and SOD.
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