查看文章

Vitamin E was originally considered a dietary factor of animal nutrition especially important for normal reproduction. The significance of vitamin E has been subsequently proven as a radical chain breaking antioxidant that can protect the integrity of tissues and play an important role in life processes. More recently α-tocopherol has been found to possess functions that are independent of its antioxidant/radical scavenging ability. Absorption in the body is α-tocopherol selective and other tocopherols are not absorbed or are absorbed to a lesser extent. Furthermore, pro-oxidant effects have been attributed to tocopherols as well as an anti-nitrating action. Non-antioxidant and non-pro-oxidant molecular mechanisms of tocopherols have been also described that are produced by α-tocopherol and not by β-tocopherol. α-Tocopherol specific inhibitory effects have been seen on protein kinase C, on the growth of certain cells …