The association between Vitamin E Complete (Tocopherols and Tocotrienols) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been confirmed in a recent human study published in the journal Aging Clinical and Experimental Research.

The study recruited 53 subjects with overt Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 40 cognitively healthy subjects (CTs) at the Geriatric Unit of the Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (Milan, Italy). All subjects were not on Vitamin E supplementation. The levels of all the 8 different isoforms of Vitamin E in the plasma were measured following at least 6 hours of fasting. Other than that, the researchers also measured the leukocyte telomere length (LTL), which has been known to be associated with cognitive decline as well as decline in LTL with aging. Hence suggesting that LTL is a potential biomarker of cognitive function and AD.

The researchers found that the subjects with AD showed significantly lower plasmatic concentration of total tocopherols, total tocotrienols, and total Vitamin E (full spectrum vitamin E consisting of all eight isoforms) as compared to CTs. The LTL also is shorter in AD subjects compared to CTs. Interestingly, this study also found that excessive nitrosylation of γ-tocopherol influences the risk of developing AD only in those individuals with preserved telomere length (i.e. biologically younger).

The results of this latest study supported and confirmed another four large epidemiological studies conducted by the AddNeuroMed Consortium, across European, public/private consortium formed to discover novel biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease. These four studies showed that Vitamin E Complete (full spectrum vitamin E consisting of d-mixed tocotrienols and d-mixed tocopherols) reduces the risk of AD in elderly Europeans, with tocotrienols being more potent than tocopherols in preventing AD. When compared to cognitively normal people, AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects demonstrated significantly lower levels of total tocotrienols, total tocopherols, and total vitamin E.  Taken together in totality, all these 5 published studies, conclusively provided evidence that low plasma tocotrienols and tocopherols (full spectrum vitamin E) are strongly linked to higher incidence of AD and MCI.

“More and more studies have revealed the importance of taking a full spectrum vitamin E (d-mixed tocotrienols and d-mixed tocopherols). The evidence from these published studies cannot be dismissed as they showed that rather than antagonistic, both tocotrienols and tocopherols complement each other to confer synergistic as well as beneficial health effects. However, it is challenging to obtain sufficiently high level of the full spectrum vitamin E from our daily diet, particularly tocotrienols. As such, it is recommended to take Vitamin E Complete (d-mixed tocopherols and d-mixed tocotrienols) or Full Spectrum Tocotrienol Complex through dietary supplementation,”

“We now know that each and every vitamin E form, tocopherols and tocotrienols, are required for preserving cognitive functions, especially in the elderly. Subjects with MCI and AD have very low tocopherols and tocotrienol levels and thus further strengthening the association of full spectrum vitamin E with cognitive health,” says ExcelVite. 

“We have always emphasized the need to take the 8 forms of vitamin E, as naturally found in our diet and as nature intended. It is not right to say that we need to prefer one type of vitamin E over the other. Consumers should be taking a full spectrum vitamin E (d-mixed tocotrienols + d-mixed tocopherols or E-Complete) especially for improving/ preserving cognitive health and performance,” 

“EVNol SupraBio™ is full spectrum tocotrienol complex (α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocotrienol) extracted from sustainably-sourced red palm fruit oil. Recently, ExcelVite has also launched a unique Non-GMO, Non-Soy and Bioenhanced Vitamin E Complete (bioenhanced with all the 8 forms of Tocopherols and Tocotrienols), called Complet-E SupraBio™. It provides a bioenhanced full spectrum tocopherols and tocotrienols for formulation of a Vitamin E Complete product,” – ExcelVite.

References:

Casati, M., Boccardi, V., Ferri, E., Bertagnoli, L., Bastiani, P., Ciccone, S., … & Arosio, B. (2019). Vitamin E and Alzheimer’s disease: the mediating role of cellular aging. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 1-6.

Mangialasche F, et al. (2010). High Plasma Levels of Vitamin E Forms and Reduced Alzheimer’s disease Risk in Advanced Age. J Alzheimers Dis., 20(4), 1029-37.

Mangialasche F, et al. (2012). Tocopherols and tocotrienols plasma levels are associated with cognitive impairment. Neurobiology of Aging, 33, 2282-2290.

Mangialasche F, et al. (2013, June). Classification and prediction of clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease based on MRI and plasma measures of α-/γ-tocotrienols and γ- tocopherol. Journal of Internal Medicine, 273(6), 602-21.

Mangialasche F, et al. (2013, Dec). Serum levels of vitamin E forms and risk of cognitive impairment in a Finnish cohort of older adults. Exp Gerontol, 48(12), 1428-1435.

Disclaimer: The statements in the above article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.