

  (Source: Futurity)
Study suggests special Vitamin E-derived drug will be most effective


I. Vitamin E Variants Can Fight Cancer




Vitamin E structure
[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons]


II. Mechanism of Action Identified, OSU Patents Drug






Sources: Ohio State Univ., Science Signaling

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Tocopherol, Akt inhibitors, etc
By jimhsu on 3/27/2013 2:55:39 PM , Rating: 2
Akt inhibitors are really nothing new; I use triciribine in the lab frequently, and it does a good job with specific inhibition. However, some of the properties of the non-alpha tocopherols and tocotrienols are more interesting than simply Akt inhibition; specifically, gamma tocopherols such as the ones mentioned in the article have much more anti-inflammatory activity than alpha-tocopherols, and are especially efficient scavengers of reactive nitrogen oxide species (RNOS). Here's a brief list of references from my database:

[23] Cooney, R. V.; Franke, A. A.; Harwood, P. J.; Hatch-Pigott, V.; Custer,
L. J.; Mordan, L. J. Gamma-tocopherol detoxification of nitrogen
dioxide: superiority to alpha-tocopherol. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
90:1771–1775; 1993.

[24] Christen, S.; Woodall, A. A.; Shigenaga, M. K.; Southwell-Keely, P. T.;
Duncan, M. W.; Ames, B. N. gamma-tocopherol traps mutagenic
electrophiles such as NO(X) and complements alpha-tocopherol: physio-
logical implications. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:3217–3222; 1997.

[25] Jiang, Q.; Christen, S.; Shigenaga, M. K.; Ames, B. N. gamma-tocopherol,
the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention. Am. J.
Clin. Nutr. 74:714–722; 2001.

[26] Wolf, G. gamma-Tocopherol: an efficient protector of lipids against nitric
oxide-initiated peroxidative damage. Nutr. Rev. 55:376–378; 1997.

[27] Wagner, K. H.; Kamal-Eldin, A.; Elmadfa, I. Gamma-tocopherol—an
underestimated vitamin? Ann. Nutr. Metab. 48:169–188; 2004.

[28] Jiang, Q.; Elson-Schwab, I.; Courtemanche, C.; Ames, B. N. gamma-
cyclooxygenase activity in macrophages and epithelial cells. Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. USA 97:11494–11499; 2000.

Before you go buy it though, know that although studies have demonstrated the difference between dietary (which contains gamma) and supplement (alpha) tocopherols, no controlled study has specifically looked at gamma supplementation.

