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Lee Swanson Research Update
Vitamin E Tocotrienols Help Reduce the Risk of Atherosclerosis
October 2007
During the past decade, the health benefits of vitamin E in prevention of atherosclerosis have been extensively studied. In a new study, researchers at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan, discovered that tocotrienols from palm tocotrienol complex are the most effective forms of vitamin E in reducing the production of adhesion molecules in the endothelial cells that line the heart and blood vessels.
In one of the first steps in atherosclerosis, adhesion molecules latch onto monocytes (a type of white blood cell) and hold them below the endothelial layer. Enhanced production of adhesion molecules by oxidized LDL cholesterol has been shown to be a critical step in plaque formation and the development of atherosclerosis. Patients with atherosclerosis have been found to have high circulating levels of these soluble adhesion molecules. Attempts to lower the production of adhesion molecules have received wide attention as a means of reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
In the Kyoto study, it was found that vitamin E tocotrienols inhibited production of adhesion molecules in human aortic endothelial cells. The inhibitory effect was significantly greater with tocotrienols than with alpha-tocopherol vitamin E.
The study also showed that endothelial cells collected larger concentrations of tocotrienols than alpha-tocopherol, indicating that the superior inhibitory activity of tocotrienols is largely due to their higher concentration in the cells.
Atherosclerosis 180(1):19-25, 2005
