Sources and Functions of Vitamin E
Vitamin E, of which there are four different forms (the tocopherols), is fat soluble.
The four have the same name except with the prefixes alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-, (the first four letters of the Greek alphabet).
The four compounds are closely related, with some difference in the molecular weight and in the position and number of certain molecular constituents.
This vitamin is an antioxidant that serves to prevent the oxidation of some body components, such as unsaturated fatty acids, and is necessary for reproduction.
The richest dietary sources of vitamin E are the vegetable oils. Safflower and olive oil contain the highest proportion of alpha-tocopherol, followed by soybean oil.
Curiously enough, these oils are also the richest sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which vitamin E protects from oxidation.
Other food sources include nuts and certain vegetables and fruit with only small amounts found in cereals, dairy products and meats.
While the symptoms for vitamin E deficiency in humans are not clearly established, experiments with various animals have shown that vitamin E deficiency has an adverse effect on reproduction with apparent irreversible injury to the germinal epithelium.
Other symptoms noted in animal studies include injury to the central nervous system, growth retardation, muscular dystrophy, and interference with normal heart action.
The primary functions of vitamin E is as an oxidant, which is important in our present day society with widespread pollution, processed food diets, and chemicals exposure.
Vitamin E helps reduce oxidation of lipid membranes and the unsaturated fatty acids and prevents the breakdown of other nutrients by oxygen.
Some scientists compare the function of vitamin E on the cell membrane to a lightening and nullifying the damage that occurs of lightening strikes.
This function of vitamin E is also performed and enhanced by other antioxidants, such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, glutathione (L-cysteine), coenzyme Q and the mineral selenium.
In fact, there is a direct recycling process for vitamin E that requires the immediate presence of beta-carotene, vitamin C, flavonoids, and coenzyme Q to work.
Sources and Functions of Vitamin E
