Tocotrienols increase arterial compliance. In 2008, a random- ized, placebo-controlled study on 36 healthy males measured arte- rial compliance after two months of tocotrienol supplementation. Tocotrienols were
supplied as
bio-enhanced full-spectrum palm tocotrienols. The men received either a placebo, or tocotrien- ols (at 50, 100 or 200 mg daily). Carotid-femoral pulse wave ve- locity (PWV), a proven measure of arterial stiffness, was used. It measures the time it takes for the arterial pulse to move from the carotid to the femoral artery. Men taking either 100 mg or 200 mg of mixed tocotrienols daily showed
significant
improvement in arte- rial compliance.27,28
Bioavailable Tocotrienols Lower Cholesterol
Tocotrienols may also lower to- tal cholesterol. They contain a side chain that increases a mol- ecule in the cell called farne- sol. That molecule signals the degradation of an enzyme re- sponsible for the production of cholesterol (the enzyme is 3-hy- droxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA, or HMG-CoA).29
We discussed
this at length in our 2008 news- letter. While statins, especially in high doses, are like a meta- phorical sledgehammer inhib- iting this enzyme, and blocking the pathway so that co-enzyme Q10 is also inhibited, tocotrien- ols are far gentler, with no ap-
6 Focus April 2013
parent side effects.
A 2001 study from the Universi- ty of Wisconsin compared tocot- rienols, statins, or a combination of the two on cholesterol mark- ers. Researchers put 28 individ- uals with high cholesterol on a restricted diet for a month, and then gave them either 50 mg of mixed tocotrienols, 10 mg of the statin drug Mevacor, or a com- bination of the two. In the 50 mg tocotrienol group total cholester- ol was lowered by 14% and LDL by 18%. In the Mevacor group total cholesterol was lowered by
Men taking either 100 mg or 200 mg of mixed tocotrienols daily showed significant improvement
in arterial
13% and LDL by 15%. In the combination group total choles- terol was lowered by 20% and LDL by 25%. The researchers then tested diet and tocotrien- ols alone—at doses of 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, and 200 mg a day. 90 people were studied, and the 100 mg a day dose worked most efficiently, lowering total cho- lesterol by a very impressive 20% and LDL by a clinically highly significant 25%.30
However, some studies on to- cotrienols and cholesterol have shown equivocal results. Ac- cording to researcher and phar- maceutical scientist Yuen Kah Hay, PhD, of the School of Phar-
compliance (elasticity)-a key marker for cardiovascular risk.
maceutical Sciences at the Uni- versity of Science Malaysia, two studies showed that supplemen- tation with 200 mg of mixed or pure tocotrienols in subjects re- stricted to a controlled diet led to a reduction of 8-16% of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol within 4 weeks. Even without a controlled diet there were similar improvements. Yet other studies showed that supplementation with up to 240 mg of tocotrienols did not lower cholesterol. “The discrepancy might be due to dif- ferences in the composition of the supplements as well as differenc- es in the bioavailability of dosage forms used,” writes Yuen. “For exam- ple, a high-tocopherol content (30% and above) in the tocotrienol sup- plement has been found
to attenuate the cholesterol low- ering activity of the mixture in chickens, as well as reducing the oral bioavailability of the tocot- rienols…This might explain the absence of cholesterol lowering activity observed…Moreover, the bioavailability of lipid sol- uble drugs was reported to be greatly influenced by the type and volume of oil administered as well as the delivery systems used. A formulation that gives both consistent and enhanced absorption of the tocotrienols will be advantageous.”31
A 2011 study by Yuen and col- leagues found that a self-emul- sifying formula of tocotrienols
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