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For Immediate Release
Summary Finds Superiority of Natural Vitamin E Supplements Over Synthetic Forms
April 7, 1999, LaGrange, IL -- "Natural" vitamin E supplements outperform synthetic forms, according to a VERIS Research Summary just published.
Results of recent studies suggest that natural vitamin E is more bioavailable and is retained in body tissues significantly longer than synthetic vitamin E. These studies show that previously accepted differences were underestimated and that the bioavailability of natural vitamin E is about twice that of synthetic vitamin E compounds.
Natural vitamin E is derived from vegetable oils, primarily soybean oil. Synthetic vitamin E is produced from petrochemicals. A key difference scientists are examining is the structure of the compounds. Natural vitamin E is a single stereoisomer, while synthetic E is a mixture of eight stereoisomers -- only one of which is the same as natural vitamin E. The other seven stereoisomers have different molecular configurations and lower biological activities.
Consumers will find natural vitamin E by looking on the product's list of ingredients on the label:
natural = "d" alpha-tocopherol
synthetic = "dl" alpha-tocopherol
The researcher of a study that shows humans strongly discriminate between natural and synthetic vitamin E believes anyone taking vitamin E should be taking the natural form. "Our studies suggest without question that natural vitamin E delivers at least twice the impact as synthetic E," said Robert Acuff, PhD, Professor and Director, Center for Nutrition Research at East Tennessee State University. Dr. Acuff, author of a recent review examining more than 30 published studies on the differences between natural and synthetic forms of vitamin E, said "In the case of vitamin E, the natural form is clearly the one our bodies were designed to use."
Another researcher investigating the differences between natural and synthetic vitamin E found that the natural form is 100% more bioavailable than synthetic. Maret Traber, Associate Professor, at the Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, in a recently published paper (Synthetic as compared with natural vitamin E is preferentially excreted as alpha-CEHC in human urine: studies using deuterated alpha-tocopherol acetates; Maret G. Traber et al FEBS Letters 437 (1998) 145-148), wrote that the body seems to discriminate between the two forms, favoring retention of the natural form for use within the body and excretion of the synthetic form. This finding opens a new era in the natural versus synthetic discussion.
While it has been acknowledged for some time that the body prefers natural vitamin E in terms of retention, this is the first evidence to suggest that the body preferentially excretes the synthetic form.
In Dr. Traber's study, six people were given 150 mg each of natural and synthetic
vitamin E. As expected from previous studies, the researchers observed about twice the increase in plasma tocopherol concentrations following the administration of natural vitamin E as compared with the synthetic form.
More significant, however, were the differences they found in analyzing urine. Almost three times as much of a degradation product of alpha-tocopherol was observed in urine following ingestion of the synthetic vitamin E. This suggests that the natural form may be preferentially bound to the tocopherol-binding protein in the liver before being secreted into the circulation, whereas the synthetic vitamin E is metabolized at a higher rate and excreted.
With numerous studies indicating that vitamin E supplements may help reduce the risks of age-related health conditions, research will continue to be published in this area.
VERIS Research Information Service is a not-for-profit organization that strives to provide a responsible source of information on the role of nutrition in health, with emphasis on antioxidants, to health professionals, researchers, and health and nutrition educators/communicators worldwide. Visit http://www.veris-online.org for current research findings on vitamin E and other antioxidants.
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Editor's note: B-roll of vitamin E available upon request.
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