The latest research on vitamin E is looking at the lesser-known forms of the vitamin, namely tocotrienols.

IF someone were to run a quick survey as to what is the most common exhortation uttered to a loved one whose health is not optimal, it would probably be, ?Take your vitamins?.

The term ?vitamins? has become part of modern popular nomenclature. It?s a quick and convenient way of assuaging the guilt felt by those who know they are not taking good care of their health.

Of course, nothing beats a healthy diet and lifestyle to take good care of health, but for many who find such activities bothersome and time-consuming, the vitamin appears, rightly or otherwise, to be somewhat of a solution.

The term vitamin describes organic substances that are chemically unrelated, but required in small quantities, for a variety of body functions. These are not manufactured by the body, so they need to be ingested to prevent disorders of metabolism. They can be broadly divided into water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins.

Most of the vitamins we are familiar with today were ?discovered? in the early part of the 20th century. Through the years, studies have elucidated the many important functions of these substances.

In the next few months, we will be looking at one such vitamin, vitamin E, and the research that has been carried out on the many possible benefits this vitamin can confer.

Vitamin E primer

It is recorded that vitamin E was officially recognised in 1925. In 1969, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) formally recognised it as an essential nutrient for humans.

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble compound, and it has many biological functions, of which the best known is its antioxidant function. In a nutshell, it protects cell membranes from oxidation and destruction. Other functions include enzymatic activities, gene expression, and neurological function.

In terms of vitamin E deficiency, it is rare, and overt deficiency symptoms have not been found in healthy people who obtain little vitamin E from their diets.

However, as fat is required to absorb vitamin E, those with fat-malabsorption syndromes (such as Crohn?s Disease) are more likely to become deficient. Deficiency symptoms include peripheral neuropathy, ataxia, skeletal myopathy, retinopathy, and impairment of the immune response.

Those with inherited disorders such as Ataxia and Vitamin E Deficiency (AVED) can have such severe vitamin E deficiency that they develop nerve damage and lose the ability to walk unless they take large doses of supplemental vitamin E.

The first use for vitamin E as a therapeutic agent was conducted in 1938 by Widenbauer. He used wheat germ oil supplement that contains vitamin E on 17 premature newborn infants suffering from growth failure. Eleven out of the original 17 patients recovered and were able to resume normal growth rates.

Since then, many other studies have been carried out on vitamin E that looked at various aspects of health and metabolism.

In general, there are eight isomers of vitamin E, and these can be broadly divided into tocopherols (four sub-types) and tocotrienols (four sub-types).

Tocopherol is an important lipid-soluble antioxidant in the body. It protects cell membranes from oxidation, removing free radical intermediates and preventing oxidation reaction. Tocopherols can be found mostly in wheat germ oil, sunflower, and safflower oils.

Compared to tocopherols, tocotrienols are sparsely studied. This might be due to the fact that they were only discovered after tocopherols. Current research direction is starting to give more prominence to the tocotrienols, the lesser known but more potent antioxidants in the vitamin E family. Palm fruit oil is the richest source of tocotrienols.

Vitamin E and health

Many believe vitamin E has the potential to promote health and prevent diseases. This is because vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, with additional roles in anti-inflammatory, inhibition of platelet aggregation, and enhancement of the immune system.

Studies, however, have shown mixed results. Several studies have associated higher vitamin E intakes with lower rates of heart diseases while randomised clinical trials raised a doubt on the efficacy of vitamin E supplements to prevent such diseases.

In general, such clinical trials have not provided evidence that intake of vitamin E supplements helps repress cardiovascular disease.

Other studies also looked at the effects of vitamin E on cancer, eye conditions and even cognitive decline. In general, these have not revealed conclusive results.

New directions in vitamin E

Over the years, research on vitamin E has looked mainly at alpha-tocopherol. And while hopes were high that vitamin E supplements would give a positive effect on health, the research does not largely support this notion. The results of the research did not look encouraging: vitamin E, even at large doses, does not decrease mortality in adults and may slightly increase it; it does not improve blood sugar control or decrease the risk of stroke; daily supplementation of vitamin E does not decrease the risk of prostate cancer.

A 2007 study concluded that supplementation with alpha-tocopherol did not reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in middle aged and older men.

However, recent developments warrant a serious reconsideration of vitamin E. As mentioned, most of the studies above looked at the possible effects of tocopherols, not tocotrienols. Research on tocotrienols has indicated that they have neuroprotective, anti-cancer and cholesterol-lowering properties that are often not exhibited by tocopherols.

The structure of tocotrienols suggests a better penetration into tissues layered with multiple saturated fats, making them more suited for use as supplements and such.

Since the 1980s, there have been more studies on tocotrienol showing that they may be more potent in their antioxidation and other effects than the usual suspects in vitamin E.

There appears to be more to vitamin E than just tocopherols. Research has progressed to a stage where scientists have identified the additional unique properties and benefits of tocotrienols.

Malaysian connection

Looking at the overall research on vitamin E, it is prudent to take the wholesome full spectrum of vitamin E; rather than choosing between tocopherols and tocotrienols, as Mother Nature provides it.

Vitamin E supplements currently available in health food stores consist mainly of d-alpha tocopherol or d-mixed tocopherols.

It is interesting to note that the major form of vitamin E in the Western diet occurs in the form of gamma-tocopherol because of the abundance of soy and corn-derived products. On the other hand, in the Eastern diet, the major form of vitamin E is gamma-tocotrienol from palm fruit oil and rice-derived products. Maybe, the ideal vitamin E formula should consist of all the forms of tocopherols and tocotrienols.

This could explain why Carotech Inc, a public-listed company in Malaysia, is the world?s first and largest producer of natural full spectrum of tocotrienol and tocopherol-complex. It is also the only GMP-certified tocotrienol producer in the world. The company is now working with a number of leading researchers in the world, carrying out studies on tocotrienols and its effects on a wide range of health issues; from liver diseases to prostate cancer, s
kin rejuvenation as well as hair loss.

References:

1. Effects of vitamin E on ruminant animal ? scholarsresearchlibrary.com/ABR-vol2.../ABR-2011-2-4-244-251.

2. US National Institutes of Health ? Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet - Vit E. ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamine/.

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