Benefit From the Whole Range of Tocopherols
D-alpha tocopherol is the best known of the four tocopherols making up the natural tocopherol portion of Vitamin E that is found in oils. While it may lack some of the stability of the acetate and succinate forms of Vitamin E, the d-alpha tocopherol found in mixed tocopherols retains the same benefits (it is also known as the best form of Vitamin E for external use). It can be used after sunburn and its antioxidant powers prevent scarring and aging of the skin. Similarly, on the surfaces of the stomach, it can assist the healing of gastric ulcers. Do the other tocopherols have value as well?
Although alpha tocopherol is still the most valuable tocopherol for human health and numerous studies show its benefits, recent research indicates that gamma tocopherol is also important to human health and that it possesses unique features that distinguish it from alpha tocopherol. Studies indicate that the other tocopherols, such as beta and delta tocopherol, may also play a minor but meaningful role.
What is Gamma Tocopherol and Where is it Found?
Gamma tocopherol is one of several Vitamin E compounds and it is the major form of Vitamin E in many plant seeds. Although gamma tocopherol is the most abundant form of Vitamin E in the diet, it is not maintained at the same concentrations as alpha tocopherol in the body. As noted in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition "alpha tocopherol is the predominant form of Vitamin E in most human and animal tissues, including blood plasma."
However evidence suggests that gamma tocopherol has properties that are important to human health and that are not shared by alpha tocopherol. In fact, supplementation with gamma tocopherol has been shown to increase plasma and tissue concentration of alpha tocopherol. What else have we learned about the lesser-known "poor cousin" of alpha tocopherol?
Gamma Tocopherol Protects Against Inflammatory Diseases
Although alpha tocopherol has been shown to be a better antioxidant than gamma tocopherol, gamma tocopherol is a superior anti-inflammatory. That is because gamma tocopherol is better able to trap reactive nitrogen oxide species (RNOS). Reactive nitrogen oxide species are associated with "chronic inflammation related to diseases such as cancer, CVD (cardiovascular disease), and neurodegenerative disorders." Mounting research shows that gamma tocopherol plays a role in controlling chronic inflammation-related diseases including arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
Another important reason to make sure that we get enough gamma tocopherol is that it also works as a cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor. "A plethora of recent studies have shown over expression of COX-2 in a variety of human malignancies, both gastrointestinal (colon, esophagus, stomach, pancreas), as well as outside the gastrointestinal tract (lung, breast, bladder, and cervix). Increased COX-2 levels have been shown to correlate with higher stage, larger tumor size, presence of lymphatic metastasis, risk of recurrence, and, most importantly, significantly poorer survival in colorectal cancers."
COX-2 over expression is also implicated in Type 1 diabetes. Again, gamma tocopherol shows benefit. Research indicates that "gamma tocopherol may play a role in preventing Type 1 diabetes, a devastating complication that affects millions..."
Its Role in Cancer Prevention
Recent evidence indicates that gamma tocopherol may be a more powerful chemo preventative than alpha tocopherol, and that it is better at inhibiting cancer cell proliferation. Note the following:
The prostate cancer connection
A 1989 study that tested men living in Washington County, Maryland who developed prostate cancer found that men who had high levels of both alpha and gamma tocopherols had a five-fold reduction in prostate cancer when compared to the group that had high levels of only alpha tocopherol. "Selenium and alpha tocopherol, the major form of Vitamin E in supplements, appear to have a protective effect against prostate cancer.
However, little attention has been paid to the possible role of gamma tocopherol, a major component of Vitamin E in the U.S. diet and the second most common tocopherol in human serum. The association between selenium and prostate cancer risk was in the protective direction with individuals in the top four fifths of the distribution having a reduced risk of prostate cancer compared with individuals in the bottom fifth.
Statistically significant protective associations for high levels of selenium and alpha tocopherol were observed only when gamma tocopherol concentrations were high. The use of combined alpha and gamma tocopherol supplements should be considered in upcoming prostate cancer prevention trials, given the observed interaction between alpha tocopherol, gamma tocopherol, and selenium."
Tocopherols help prevent cardiovascular disease
A study that appeared in May 2002 edition of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology
indicates that mixed tocopherols (gamma, delta and alpha) counteract the development of cardiovascular disease when compared to an intake of large amounts of pure alpha tocopherol. In the laboratory experiment, a mixture of tocopherols was found to have a stronger inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation in human red blood cells, than alpha tocopherol alone. "Both alpha tocopherol and the tocopherol mixture protected the cells from lipid peroxidation, the mixture being much more potent than alpha tocopherol alone. This study indicates that a mixture of tocopherols has a much stronger inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation induced in human erythrocytes than alpha tocopherol alone..."
Some animal studies have also shown that gamma tocopherol can decrease platelet aggregation (stickiness) and thrombosis as well as or better than alpha tocopherol. Source: Natural Factors
View our Selection of Products
Scientific References
- [www.oncodx.com/markers/cox2.htm].
- Helzlsouer, Kathy J., Han-Yao Huang, et al. Association between alpha tocopherol, gamma tocopherol, selenium, and subsequent prostate cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol 92, No. 24, 2018-2023, December 20, 2000.
- Liu, Meilin; Wallin, Rolf et al. Mixed tocopherols have a stronger inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation than alpha tocopherol alone. Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology.2002; 39: 714-721.
|
