Alpha-tocopherol: roles in prevention and therapy of human disease.
Alpha-tocopherol, one of the eight isoforms of vitamin E, is the most potent fat-soluble antioxidant known in nature. For years, it was thought that alpha-tocopherol only functioned as a scavenger of lipid peroxyl radicals, specifically, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL), thereby serving as a chief antioxidant for the prevention of atherosclerosis. In recent years, the many roles of alpha-tocopherol have been uncovered, and include not only antioxidant functions, but also pro-oxidant, cell signaling and gene regulatory functions. Decades of clinical and preclinical studies have broadened our understanding of the antioxidant vitamin E and its utility in a number of chronic, oxidative stress-induced pathologies. The results of these studies have shown promising, albeit mixed reviews on the efficacy of alpha-tocopherol in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Future studies to uncover cellular and systemic mechanisms may help guide appropriate clinical treatment strategies using vitamin E across a diverse population of aging individuals.
Tucker
J M
JM
Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. townsend@musc.edu
Townsend
D M
DM
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001692:Biological Transport; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000975:Antioxidants; D014810:Vitamin E