The Next Generation Vitamin E How Tocotrienols Benefit the Heart, Brain and Liver
Hidden in the stately steppes of gentle rice paddies, nestled in shiny clusters of red and purple palm fruit, lurking in tiny annat- to seeds from the achiote tree… lies a quartet of potent anti-in- flammatory, highly protective molecules called tocotrienols. They are cousins to the four to- copherols. Together, all eight comprise the Vitamin E family, a lipid-loving arsenal of mole- cules essential to health. Each has its own healing profile. Ac- cording to molecular biochem- ist Chandan Sen, of Ohio State University, “Current studies of the biological functions of vita- min E continue to indicate that each member of the vitamin E family possesses unique biologi- cal functions often not shared by other family members.”1
In 2008, we brought you the latest tocotrienol research, fo- cusing then on the delta and gamma forms (Focus July 2008). Research has advanced at a quick pace since then, and we are devoting much of this issue to the newest findings on all of these remarkably potent mol- ecules. Their biological impact turns out to effective in prevent- ing and repairing stroke-related vascular damage,
2 Focus April 2013
rosis, elevated cholesterol, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Tocotrienols work not only as antioxidants, but through spe- cialized mechanisms that direct- ly regulate key inflammatory pathways in the body.2
For a long time, tocotrienols were like the Cinderella of Vitamin E science—relegated to the corner and ignored. Vitamin E research focused almost
exclusively
around alpha-tocopherol—dis- covered in 1922, isolated and an- alyzed in 1936, and dubbed the “fertility factor” because it is nec- essary for reproduction. We know that alpha-tocopherol has its own transport system (alpha-tocoph- erol transport protein, or TTP). This protein controls the distribu- tion of alpha-tocopherol to cells and tissues throughout the body.
atheroscle-
But in the last decade, a number of princes have kissed our Cinderella, and there is a growing body of impressive research on tocotrienols. In 2005, the definition of vitamin E in the Merck Manual had no reference to tocotrienol. Today, the manual recognizes that “Vitamin E is a group of compounds (including tocopherols and tocotrienols) that have similar biologic activities.” In addition, in 2010 the FDA bestowed
GRAS status on all tocotrienols. Tocotrienols turn out to offer unique protection against complex metabolic
conditions, including
heart disease, atherosclerosis, stroke, fatty liver disease, and metabolic syndrome.3
“Tocotrienols exhibit health ben- efits quite different from that of tocopherols, and in most cases, these activities are superior for human use,” states biochemist Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD, of The University of Texas M.D. Ander- son Cancer Center in Houston, where he and his team study cur- cumin, resveratrol, tocotrienols and other natural compounds that might help us to defeat can- cer. “We now know different isomers of tocotrienols exhibit distinct activities. While alpha-to- cotrienol is highly effective in the brain for cerebral ischemia, gam- ma and delta tocotrienol exhibit strong anti-cancer and anti-in- flammatory activities.”4,5,6,7
Most importantly, says Aggar- wal, tocotrienols work on mul- tiple pathways: “In the last few decades, too much emphasis has been placed on designing drugs that hit a single target. I call it tar- get practice—one gene, one tar- get. However, most diseases are
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