Vitamin E Tocotrienols Show Cholesterol Benefits For Healthy Adults
With consumers always on the lookout for strong, science-based supplements offering a range of heart-healthy benefits, tocotrienol, a form of Vitamin E, may fast become the next popular nutrient for promoting heart health. A recent study published in Nutrition and Metabolism (2011) suggests that tocotrienol-rich supplements may help increase the ratio of HDL cholesterol to total cholesterol, thus reducing the risk of heart disease, particularly in people over 50. 1
According to the Nutrition Business Journal, sales of vitamins and dietary supplements grew 9.2 percent to $3 billion in 2010 in the food, drug and mass merchandisers (FDM) channel and 4.2 percent in the natural channel reaching $750 million. The recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, reported a 26 percent rise in the use of dietary supplements since 1994. 1 With such a ripe and ready market, supplement business owners can consider a wide range of high-quality nutritional supplements for promoting basic health as well as supplements that promote condition-specific health benefits.
The study group in Malaysia consisted of 62 participants each randomly assigned either a placebo or 160 mg a day of a tocotrienol-rich supplement for six months. The Vitamin E supplement used in the study contained 74 percent tocotrienols and 26 percent tocopherol. At the end of the study, both age groups (the 35-49 age group and those over 50), showed an improvement in the ratio of HDL to total cholesterol against the placebo group. Those over 50 years of age also showed increased levels of Vitamin E. The study was able to establish a relationship between Vitamin E supplementation and oxidative damage, as well as antioxidant levels in those who are older.
Background: Tocotrienol
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble nutrient that consists of eight natural isomers: tocopherol and tocotrienol, each as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. Of these, alpha-tocopherol has been well-studied and nutritional supplement manufacturers have been using this form of Vitamin E for quite some time. But recent studies show tocotrienols to be more bio-available and more effective in improving health than the more popular tocopherols.
One of the earliest studies conducted on tocotrienols was completed in 1986. A paper written by Dr. A. Quereshi in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, reported that barley and oats, followed by rye, wheat and corn exhibited cholesterol-lowering properties because of the concentration of tocotrienols found in these cereals. 2 Up until 2000, tocotrienol was rarely heard of in the market, but thanks to the efforts of Dr. Qureshi and other research studies, tocotrienol has quickly gained a significant place in health and nutrition, showing particular potential in three areas: hypocholesterolemic, anti-cancer, and neuroprotective.
Tocotrienol is mostly found in vegetative tissues of plants. Palm oil is one of the most abundant sources of tocotrienol and most commonly used for manufacturing tocotrienol supplements. Crude palm oil consists of 30% tocopherols and 70% tocotrienols (gamma and alpha).
Tocotrienol for Cardiovascular Health
Since elevated total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol are established risk factors for cardiovascular disease, tocotrienol supplementation may prove to be a potentially effective nutritional means to promote cardiovascular health. Established by the study conducted in Malaysia, tocotrienol exhibits cardio-protective properties. The mechanism lies in tocotrienol's ability to influence the activity of HMGCoA-reductase, an enzyme that limits the rate of cholesterol biosynthesis, thereby lowering elevated cholesterol levels. 3-4
Like other compounds in the Vitamin E family, tocotrienols possess powerful antioxidant properties. The antioxidant properties of toctrienols support cardiovascular health through the production of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. Tocotrienols also exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. 5-9
Studies have shown the importance of taking all eight forms of Vitamin E as found in natural food sources. The synergistic effect of all eight compounds has been demonstrated to be more effective in reducing the risk of death from cardiovascular disease than taking alpha-tocopherol supplements alone. 10 A nutritional supplement manufacturer can also formulate tocotrienol supplements using other science-based heart-healthy ingredients such as omega-3 fatty acids, CoQ10, resveratrol, cocoa flavanols and more.
According to the American Heart Association, about 80.7 million Americans suffer from some type of cardiovascular disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in every six adults (17% of the U.S. adult population) has high blood cholesterol. 11 Anyone, including children, can develop high cholesterol, but according to the National Institutes of Health, men aged 45 years or older and women aged 55 years or older are at increased risk of high cholesterol. 12
A 2009 report, "InvestFrost Chemicals - U.S. Heart Health Ingredients Market" from Frost & Sullivan notes, "Improved consumer awareness on the benefits of heart health ingredients coupled with the aging baby boomers population conscious of living healthy life is expected to be beneficial for the market. In addition, the growing numbers of people with risk factors such as obesity and diabetes present a huge customer base for heart health ingredient manufacturers." 13 More consumers understand that the application of heart-healthy ingredients to significantly improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels, provide antioxidant benefits, support healthy blood pressure and promote the body's natural anti-inflammatory responses.
Tocotrienol for Neurological Health
Sixty percent of the brain consists of phospholipids which reside in cell membranes. As powerful antioxidants, tocotrienols play a role in protecting the cell membrane against oxidative stress, thus playing a vital role in helping to reduce neurodegeneration. 14-15 Tocotrienols support healthy brain cell functions and may be useful in supporting neurological health in combination with tocopherols and other vital brain nutrients.
Tocotrienol for Healthy Cell Functions
Most of the research on Vitamin E and cancer has been related to studies on alpha tocopherol and have yielded poor results. Scientists believe their distinctive structure enables tocotrienols to enter cells more freely and carry out vital metabolic functions more efficiently than tocopherols. More recent studies indicate that the synergistic effect of all eight Vitamin E compounds may help to lower the occurrence of certain types of tumors. 16 Gamma and delta-tocotrienol are seen to exhibit the greatest anti-cancer activity. 17-18
Vitamin E Supplement Manufacturing
Consumers are becoming more aware of the specific health benefits of tocotrienols. A nutritional supplement manufacturer can provide your customers with this type of targeted nutrition to combat a variety of condition-specific health conditions. Nutricap Labs can help you design a high-quality Vitamin E supplement that contains all eight Vitamin E compounds for a synergistic effect on health or a combination of heart-healthy ingredients to produce a more comprehensive heart health formula. Talk to our product advisors or submit a request to receive a free quote to find out how we can help you either customize a unique formula to meet your target market or private label Vitamin E supplements.
References:
1. Tocotrienol Rich Fraction Supplementation Improved Lipid Profile and Oxidative Status in Healthy Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Study, Nutrition & Metabolism 2011, 8:42.
2. Journal of Biological Chemistry (Volume 261, pp. 10544-10550).
3. Response of hypercholesterolemic subjects to administration of tocotrienols. Lipids 1995;30:1171-1177.
4. Lowering of serum cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic humans by tocotrienols (palmvitee). Am J Clin Nutr 1991;53:1021S-1026S.
5. Effects of tocotrienol-rich fraction on exercise endurance capacity and oxidative stress in forced swimming rats. Eur J Appl Physiol 2009;107:587-595.
6. Effect of gamma-tocotrienol on blood pressure, lipid peroxidation and total antioxidant status in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Clin Exp Hypertens 1999;21:1297-1313.
7. Nitrofurantoin-induced hepatic and pulmonary biochemical changes in mice fed different vitamin E doses. Pharmacol Toxicol 1996;79:334-339.
8. Gamma-tocotrienol inhibits nuclear factor-kappaB signaling pathway through inhibition of receptor-interacting protein and TAK-1 leading to suppression of antiapoptotic gene products and potentiation of apoptosis. J Biol Chem 2007;282:809-820.
9. Synergistic anticancer effects of combined gamma-tocotrienol and celecoxib treatment are associated with suppression in Akt and NFkappaB signaling. Biomed Pharmacother 2010;64:327-332.
10. Cardioprotection with palm tocotrienols: comparison of different isomers. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2008;294:H970-H978.
11. Frequently Asked Questions about High Blood Cholesterol, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/faqs.htm#6
12. High Blood Cholesterol: What You Need to Know, National Institutes of Health, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/wyntk.htm
13. InvestFrost Chemicals - U.S. Heart Health Ingredients Market, April 2009, Frost & Sullivan, http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/report-brochure.pag?id=N5AB-01-00-00-00
14. Molecular basis of vitamin E action: tocotrienol modulates 12-lipoxygenase, a key mediator of glutamate-induced neurodegeneration. J Biol Chem 2003;278:43508-43515.
15. Molecular basis of vitamin E action. Tocotrienol potently inhibits glutamate-induced pp-60 (c-SRC) kinase activation and death of HT4 neuronal cells. J Biol Chem;275:13049-13055.
16. Mixed tocotrienols inhibit prostate carcinogenesis in TRAMP mice. Nutr Cancer 2010;62:789-799.
17. Apoptosis induction by gamma-tocotrienol in human hepatoma Hep3B cells. J. Nutr Biochem 2006;17:672-676.
18. Gamma-tocotrienol induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in human gastric Adenocarcinoma SGC-7901 cells. J Nutr Biochem 2009;20:276-284.
