Background:

Currently, there is a growing interest in investigating methods that reduce delayed onset muscle pain. It has been postulated that antioxidants such as vitamin C and E can attenuate it.

Objective:

To evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin E in mitigating delayed onset muscle pain.

Materials and Methods:

A bibliographic search was carried out in the following databases: Medline, Registry Central Cochrane, Scopus, SportDiscus and SciELO, using the terms: “vitamin e supplementation”, “muscle damage” and “delayed onset muscle soreness”.

Results:

Studies in diverse population groups were reviewed, with various evaluation methods and differing doses of vitamin E. The results were very controversial, in some cases a delayed onset pain effect was demonstrated and in other cases not.

Conclusion:

Vitamin E produces a decrease in oxidative stress and stabilization of sarcolemma, however, conclusive evidence is lacking to state that vitamin E will have the effect of generating improvements in biomarkers associated with delayed onset muscle pain.

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