Plasma Ascorbic Acid and Non-Enzymatic Antioxidants Level in Unoperated Cataract Patients

Free radicals have been implicated in the pathology of several diseases including cataract. Ascorbic acid functions as the major chain breaking antioxidant vitamin in the aqueous phase. Bilirubin, albumin and uric acid are regarded as natural antioxidants. There are conflicting reports on plasma concentrations of these antioxidants in cataract patients. 89 subjects consisting of 55 cataract patients and 34 control subjects were recruited for the study. The mean age of the subjects was 61± 11yrs. Mean plasma ascorbic acid level was significantly lower in cataract patients (0.33± 0.27) when compared with age matched control group (0.59 ±0.37) (p< 0.05). A significant increase in mean plasma bilirubin was observed in cataract patients when compared to the corresponding controls. Plasma uric acid levels showed a positive correlation with ascorbic acid (r =0.40,