The objective of this investigation was to examine the stress and coping styles in Japanese nursing students. The principal measures of the stress and coping styles were the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-12 and Brief Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced scale. In a cross-sectional analysis, 1324 students completed the anonymous self-administered questionnaires including the scales earlier. Feeling stress, living with family, not eating breakfast every day, having no regular exercise and poor sleep were associated with GHQ responder (psychological distressed group). The most commonly reported source of stress was taking examinations, followed by relationships with friends, engaging in clinical practice and presenting reports. The three most common coping styles adopted by the nursing students were acceptance, self-distraction and using instrumental support. By logistic regression analysis of coping styles with GHQ responder, self-blame, active coping, acceptance and behavioural disengagement were highly associated with GHQ responder. The nursing school educators as well as students should be aware of stress management strategies (e.g. using active coping and avoiding self-blame) that may help prevent depression.

Vitamin E activity of sesame seed, which contains only gamma-tocopherol, a compound that has vitamin E activity equal to only 6-16% that of alpha-tocopherol, was examined in two experiments. In the first experiment, groups of rats were fed four diets: vitamin E-free control diet, alpha-tocopherol-containing diet, gamma-tocopherol-containing diet and sesame seed-containing diet. Changes in red blood cell hemolysis, plasma pyruvate kinase activity, and peroxides in plasma and liver, as indices of vitamin E activity, were examined. The sesame seed diet has high vitamin E activity, whereas this activity was low in the gamma-tocopherol diet. In plasma and liver, alpha-tocopherol was found in high concentration only in the alpha-tocopherol-fed group, and gamma-tocopherol was found in high concentration only in the sesame seed-fed group, with negligible amounts of gamma-tocopherol in liver of the gamma-tocopherol-fed group. In the second experiment, two diets containing sesame lignan (sesaminol or sesamin) and gamma-tocopherol were tested. Results in both of the sesame lignan-fed groups were comparable to those observed in the sesame seed-fed group in Experiment 1. These experiments indicate that gamma-tocopherol in sesame seed exerts vitamin E activity equal to that of alpha-tocopherol through a synergistic interaction with sesame seed lignans.

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We previously showed that alpha- and gamma-tocotrienols accumulate in adipose tissue and skin but not in plasma or other tissues of rats fed a tocotrienol-rich fraction extracted from palm oil containing alpha-tocopherol and alpha- and gamma-tocotrienols. To clarify the nature of tocotrienol metabolism, we studied the distribution of alpha- or gamma-tocotrienol in rats fed alpha- or gamma-tocotrienol without alpha-tocopherol, and the effect of alpha-tocopherol on their distribution. Wistar rats (4-wk-old) were fed a diet with 50 mg alpha-tocotrienol/kg alone or with 50 mg alpha-tocopherol/kg in expt. 1, and a diet with 50 mg gamma-tocotrienol/kg alone or with 50 mg alpha-tocopherol/kg in expt. 2, for 8 wk. alpha-Tocotrienol was detected in various tissues and plasma of the rats fed alpha-tocotrienol alone, and the alpha-tocotrienol concentrations in those tissues and plasma decreased (P < 0.05) by the dietary alpha-tocopherol in the rats fed alpha-tocotrienol with alpha-tocopherol. However, gamma-tocotrienol preferentially accumulated in the adipose tissue and skin of the rats fed gamma-tocotrienol alone, and the dietary alpha-tocopherol failed either to decrease (P >/= 0.05) gamma-tocotrienol concentrations in the adipose tissue and skin or to increase (P >/= 0.05) in the urinary excretion of 2,7,8-trimethyl-2(2'-carboxymethyl)-6-hydroxycroman, a metabolite of gamma-tocotrienol, in the rats fed gamma-tocotrienol with alpha-tocopherol. These data suggest that alpha-tocopherol enhances the alpha-tocotrienol metabolism but not the gamma-tocotrienol metabolism in rats.

The metabolism of tocotrienol remains unclear. We studied the distribution of tocotrienol in rats fed the tocotrienol-rich fraction extracted from palm oil. We have previously shown that dietary sesame seeds markedly elevate the tocopherol concentration in rats. In this study, we also examined the effect of dietary sesame seeds on the tocotrienol concentration. In experiment 1, rats (4-wk-old) were fed the diet with alpha-tocopherol alone or with alpha- and gamma-tocotrienols. In experiment 2, the effect of dietary sesame seeds on tocopherol and tocotrienol concentrations in rats fed the diet with tocopherol and tocotrienol was studied. The rats were fed the experimental diet for 8 wk in both experiments. alpha- and gamma-Tocotrienols accumulated in the adipose tissue and skin, but not in plasma or other tissues, of the rats fed tocotrienols. Dietary sesame seeds elevated (P < 0.05) tocotrienol concentrations in the adipose tissue and skin, but did not affect their concentrations in other tissues or in plasma. The gamma-tocopherol concentration in all tissues and plasma of rats fed gamma-tocopherol was extremely low but was elevated (P < 0.05) in many tissues by feeding sesame seeds. These data suggest that the transport and tissue uptake of vitamin E isoforms are different. Dietary sesame seeds elevate the concentrations of both tocopherols and tocotrienols.