Effect of vitamin E supplementation on antioxidant defense systems and humoral immune responses in young, middle-aged and elderly Korean women.
Free radical-mediated oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous chronic diseases. Vitamin E is known to play an important role in the free-radical quenching process. However, clinical trials with vitamin E have yielded contrasting results in the prevention of several diseases related to oxidative stress. This study was undertaken to investigate the antioxidative and humoral immunologic effects of vitamin E supplementation in three different age groups: young (mean age 32.7 +/- 5.7 y), middle-aged (mean age 47.0 +/- 5.0 y) and elderly (67.6 +/- 4.7 y) women. Volunteer subjects were given a supplement of 400 IU dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate for 6 wk. Thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) in the plasma significantly decreased with vitamin E supplementation. In addition, the radical scavenger activities (RSA) of red blood cells significantly increased with vitamin E supplementation in all age groups. However, humoral immune response modulation was not observed following vitamin E supplementation. Even though there is no clear indication that vitamin E supplementation is necessary to improve the humoral immune functions, vitamin E supplementation may be beneficial to all adult age groups as a preventive measure for complications related to oxidative damage.
Park
Ock Jin
OJ
Applied Sciences, Hannam University, Daejeon 306-791, Korea.
Kim
Hye Young P
HY
Kim
Woo Kyung
WK
Kim
Yeon Joong
YJ
Kim
Sook He
SH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects; D007723:Korea; D008875:Middle Aged; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000975:Antioxidants; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D014810:Vitamin E; D010088:Oxidoreductases