Vitamin C intake is a novel potential therapeutic approach in the secretion of adiponectin and in the treatment of abdominal obesity.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide and is a leading cause of morbidities and mortalities. Abdominal obesity is associated with various health complications including insulin resistance (IR), type 2 diabetes etc. The present research studied the outcome of VC intake on adiponectin (ACRP30) levels and its relationship with waist circumference (WC) and IR. METHODS: The present study was carried out on a total of 80 subjects. 42 obese (20 males and 22 females) and 38 non-obese (19 males and 19 females) were enrolled into two groups. Vitamin C (500 mg) was provided to all study subjects and instructed to consume it three times a day over a period of 90 consecutive days. Fasting blood samples were collected at the baseline and end of the study. Adiponectin levels were measured. Data were analyzed by using a two-tailed Student's t-test. RESULTS: Vitamin C supplementation significantly increased serum adiponectin (ACRP30) levels in obese males (P = 0.0485), obese females (P = 0.0235), non-obese males (0.0457), and non-obese females (0.0245). Adiponectin is inversely correlated with WC and IR. No significant differences were found in the levels of serum adiponectin between study participants gender-wise. CONCLUSION: 500 mg of vitamin C intake, three times a day for 90 days, is a novel potential therapeutic approach to restore the capacity of adipose tissue in secreting adiponectin and for the treatment of abdominal obesity and allied complications.