W.D. Jackson, T. Balon and R.L. Prior.
Little information exists concerning oxidative stress in healthy young children.
A placebo controlled clinical trial with 39 healthy mixed gender children between the ages of 5-10 years old was designed to study oxidative stress indicators and their response to a commercially available fruit and vegetable based antioxidant supplement. The placebo and the supplement were taken in two doses per day for 21 days. There was no significant difference for any of the markers of oxidative stress between the placebo and treatment groups at day 1 or day 21. Oxidative stress indicators of healthy children appear to be similar to those of healthy adults and were not changed by antioxidant supplementation. The results of this study may be useful as normative data for future research with children in disease states who are subject to elevated levels of oxidative stress.