The Effect of 12 Weeks of Regular Exercise with Vitamin C Supplementation on Salivary IgA in Male High-School Students

Introduction: Immunoglobulins are the humoral elements, which indicate the function of the immune system. Studies have shown that exercise and vitamin C supplementation could increase immunoglobulin levels. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of 12 weeks of regular exercise with vitamin C supplementation on salivary IgA in male high-school students. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 40 male high-school students who were randomly assigned to four groups of 10, including exercise with vitamin C supplementation, exercise, vitamin C supplementation, and control group. Groups one and two performed the selected exercises three sessions and Groups one and three consumed three vitamin C tablets (250 mg) per week.  The Saliva samples were collected 24 hours before the first training session and 48 hours after the last training session, and Data were recorded as the pre-test and post-test of groups. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 22 using T-Test, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s post-hoc at the significance level of P≤0.05. Results: The S IgA was significantly influenced by 12 weeks of regular exercise and vitamin C supplementation. The differences between the groups indicated that the IgA levels in the exercise with vitamin C group (P=0.001) and exercise group (P=0.001) were significantly higher than the control group. However, no significant difference was observed between the control and vitamin C groups (P=0.49).Conclusion: According to the results, regular exercise and vitamin C supplementation could increase salivary IgA levels in male high- school students.