Effect of Mangosteen Peel Supplementation on Erythrocytes and Hemoglobin in Male Students after Heavy Physical Exercise

Oxidative stress due to heavy physical exercise can cause damage to the cell body of one of several erythrocytes and hemoglobin. Natural antioxidant consumption is a way to overcome the effect of oxidative stress. One of the natural antioxidants is mangosteen peel with high content of antioxidants. The aim of this study is to understand the effect of mangosteen peels on erythrocytes and hemoglobin in male students after heavy physical exercise. This is a true experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design with 21 male students which were divided into two groups. The first group was given placebo while the other groups were given mangosteen peels supplementation with dosage of 550 mg for two weeks. Physical exercise with an intensity of 75%-85% using a treadmill is done three times a week for all groups. Erythrocytes and hemoglobin were measured before and after treatment. Erythrocytes levels decreased significantly in the control group and increased insignificantly in the treatment group. Hemoglobin levels decreased significantly in the control group and increased significantly in the treatment group. From this study, it can be concluded that mangosteen peel supplementation acts as antioxidant to erythrocytes and hemoglobin in male students after heavy physical exercise.