Abstract

Objective: To determine the levels of antioxidants vitamins C and E as well as lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) patients. Methods: Sixty two M. tuberculosis positive patients and fifty five healthy controls within the age of twenty five to forty years without any systemic disease attending General Hospital Owerri were involved in this study. Forty one cases were longitudinally followed up with standard antituberculosis chemotherapy (ATT) for six weeks. Results: The results obtained showed that the levels of vitamin C (0.91暲0.42 mg/dL) and vitamin E (0.84暲0.31 mg/dL) were significantly decreased in M. tuberculosis patients before treatment when compared to the healthy controls [(1.64暲0.41 mg/dL) and (1.46暲0.38 mg/dL)] respectively at P<0.05, while the level of MDA (8.7暲 1.81 nM/mL) in M. tuberculosis patients was significantly higher (P<0.05) before anti-tuberculosis treatment as compared with the healthy control (4.91暲1.9 nM/mL). Also, there was a significant increase in vitamin C and E levels after 6 weeks of ATT, while MDA levels was decreased when compared with the control (P<0.05). Conclusions: The depletion of vitamins C and E as well as elevation of MDA in tuberculosis patients is suggestive of lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress. The increase in vitamin C and E as well as decrease in MDA after 6 weeks of anti-tuberculosis treatment is suggestive of good response to treatment with standard ATT. Hence, vitamin C and E supplementation improves the quality of life of tuberculosis patients.

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