Author(s): Mohammad Gholizadeh, and Ahmad Saedisomeolia
It has been reported that the erythrocyte glutathione reductase activation coefficient (EGR-AC) corresponds to the antioxidant activity of riboflavin. It is found that riboflavin supplements decrease EGR-AC. The aim of this systematic review is to determine the most effective doses of riboflavin supplementation to reduce EGR-AC levels in different age, gender and duration subgroups. A systematic search of relevant articles was performed on the PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholars from inception to April of 2019. The clinical trials which administered riboflavin as an intervention were included. The mean and standard deviation of the main outcome (EGR-AC level) in intervention and placebo groups were considered for analysis. A total of 44 studies were identified and 10 studies were eligible. In total 362 subjects were enrolled into this study. The data of the EGR-AC level (WMD: - 0.38; 99.9% CI, -0.39 to -0.38; P<0.001) were compared between intervention and placebo groups. It was found that the most effective supplementation dosages of riboflavin to reduce the EGRAC level were 2 mg, 4 mg, and 5 mg daily. Higher or lower doses only had a minor or no effect on EGR-AC level. Moreover, the results showed that the potential doses (2-5 mg of riboflavin supplementation daily) have more effect on reducing the EGR-AC level in female than males. In Conclusion, this meta-analysis revealed that 2-5 mg/daily of riboflavin supplementation (for 48,6,8 and 12 weeks, respectively) is the most effective dose to reduce the EGR-AC levels in two subgroups of male/female subjects.
