Vitamin E function and requirements in relation to PUFA (2015)
Explanation
This study describes the relationship between Vitamin E (α-tocopherol) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the body using human and animal studies. PUFA are highly sensitive to oxidation, and their breakdown creates harmful lipid peroxides. Vitamin E, as a dietary antioxidant eaten with high-PUFA foods, increases the stability of PUFA in the body. However, the current nutritional guidelines for Vitamin E have not scaled to match the increase in PUFA intake. The authors conclude that a higher intake of Vitamin E would have a protective effect and provide various calculations and estimates.
A corollary to this conclusion is that diets with a lower PUFA intake will also have lower Vitamin E requirements.
Highlights
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Official Abstract
Vitamin E (α-tocopherol) is recognised as a key essential lipophilic antioxidant in humans protecting lipoproteins, PUFA, cellular and intra- cellular membranes from damage. The aim of this review was to evaluate the relevant published data about vitamin E requirements in relation to dietary PUFA intake. Evidence in animals and humans indicates a minimal basal requirement of 4–5 mg/d of RRR-α-tocopherol when the diet is very low in PUFA. The vitamin E requirement will increase with an increase in PUFA consumption and with the degree of unsaturation of the PUFA in the diet. The vitamin E requirement related to dietary linoleic acid, which is globally the major dietary PUFA in humans, was calculated to be 0·4–0·6mg of RRR-α-tocopherol/g of linoleic acid. Animal studies show that for fatty acids with a higher degree of unsaturation, the vitamin E requirement increases almost linearly with the degree of unsaturation of the PUFA in the relative ratios of 0·3, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexaenoic fatty acids, respectively. Assuming a typical intake of dietary PUFA, a vitamin E requirement ranging from 12 to 20 mg of RRR-α-tocopherol/d can be calculated. A number of guidelines recommend to increase PUFA intake as they have well-established health benefits. It will be prudent to assure an adequate vitamin E intake to match the increased PUFA intake, especially as vitamin E intake is already below recommendations in many populations worldwide.
Publication Details
Authors
Daniel Raederstorff, Adrian Wyss, Philip C. Calder, Peter Weber, and Manfred Eggersdorfer
Journal
PubMed
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26291567/
Full Text
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4594047/
Citation
Raederstorff D, Wyss A, Calder PC, Weber P, Eggersdorfer M. Vitamin E function and requirements in relation to PUFA. Br J Nutr. 2015 Oct 28;114(8):1113-22. doi: 10.1017/S000711451500272X. Epub 2015 Aug 21. PMID: 26291567; PMCID: PMC4594047.