Response of hypercholesterolemic subjects to administration of tocotrienols

Abstract

The cholesterol-suppressive actions of Palmvitee and gamma-tocotrienol were assessed in hypercholesterolemic subjects after acclimation to the American Heart Association Step 1 dietary regimen for four and eight weeks, respectively. The four-week dietary regimen alone elicited a 5% decrease (P < 0.05) in the cholesterol level of the 36 subjects. Subjects continuing on the dietary regimen for a second four-week period experienced an additional 2% decrease in their cholesterol levels. Dietary assessments based on unanticipated recalls of 24-h food intake records suggest that significant reductions in energy and fat, predominantly in saturated fat, intakes are responsible. The subjects experienced significant Palmvitee- and gamma-tocotrienol-mediated decreases in cholesterol. The group of subjects acclimated to the dietary regimen for four weeks responded to Palmvitee (a blend of tocols providing 40 mg alpha-tocopherol, 48 mg alpha-tocotrienol, 112 mg gamma-tocotrienol, and 60 mg delta-to-cotrienol/day for four weeks) with a 10% decrease in cholesterol (P < 0.05). Dietary assessments showed no further change in energy and fat intakes. alpha-Tocopherol attenuated the cholesterol-suppressive action of the tocotrienols. The second group of subjects, acclimated to the dietary regimen for eight weeks, received 200 mg gamma-tocotrienol/d for four weeks. The cholesterol-suppressive potency of this alpha-tocopherol-free preparation was calculated to be equivalent to that of the mixture of tocotrienols (220 mg) used in the prior study. Cholesterol levels of the 16 subjects in the second group decreased 13% (P < 0.05) during the four-week trial. Plasma apolipoprotein B and ex vivo generation of thromboxane B2 were similarly responsive to the tocotrienol preparations, whereas neither preparation had an impact on high density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-1 levels.

The effect of a biscuit with red palm oil as a source of β-carotene on the vitamin A status of primary school children: a comparison with β-carotene from a synthetic source in a randomised controlled trial

“…In addition red palm oil is a rich source of tocopherols and tocotrienols, which being powerful antioxidants protect the oil against oxidative deterioration; the shelf life of products in which red palm oil is used is therefore prolonged without having to add a synthetic antioxidant. Palm tocotrienols have been reported to have a serum cholesterol lowering effect (Qureshi et al, 1995) and may also play a role in suppressing certain types of cancer, particularly breast cancer (Nesaretnam et al, 1998).…”

Tocotrienol inhibits proliferation of human Tenon’s fibroblasts in vitro: a comparative study with vitamin E forms and mitomycin C

“…Caution is required in cases of regular aspirin intake or in patients with vitamin K deficiency, as the risk of bleeding is increased by vitamin E. No significant adverse effects were reported in studies of long-time daily supplementation of human individuals with palm oil tocotrienol [46,49,51,52]. No teratogenic potential is known.…”

Traditional oil palm (Elaeis guineensis jacq.) and its medicinal uses: A review

“…Peer review journals have documented palm tocotrienol complex's promising hypocholesterolemic properties (Qureshi et al, 1991(Qureshi et al, , 1995. Also, the daily consumption of tocotrienolsenriched fraction of palm oil (200 mg palmvitee capsule) can result in a significant reduction of serum cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol, APOB, thromboxane, platelet factor 4 and glucose of hyper cholesterolemic subjects within four weeks of administration (Qureshi et al, 1991;Packer, 1992;Song and DeBose-Boyd, 2006).…”