Vitamin E extracted from Palm Oil may help
protect your brain if you have a stroke

Breakthrough research indicates that the alpha tocotrienol
form of Vitamin E may be a low-cost and effective way to protect
against neurological damage.  

This year, 700,000 Americans will have a stroke; more than 137,000 of them will die. About 40 percent of those who survive will be left with moderate to severe impairments that require special care. Researchers are uncovering exciting evidence that supplementing your diet with a natural form of vitamin E called alpha tocotrienol may help protect your brain’s sensitive nerve cells, possibly limiting the damage caused by a stroke and helping to accelerate recovery of functional loss.  

“This is an exciting time in tocotrienol research,” says one of the nation’s leading experts in vitamin E research Prof. Chandan Sen, who has conducted and published a number of significant NIH-funded studies on tocotrienols. Dr. Sen is a Tenured Professor and Associate Dean for Research at The Ohio State University Medical Center. “Alpha tocotrienol is markedly more potent than the more commonly available forms of vitamin E in its ability to help protect neurons in the brain from damage or death.”

What are tocotrienols?

Natural vitamin E comes in eight different forms. Four of those forms are called tocopherols; these tocopherols are the type of Vitamin E most commonly found in vitamin supplements either in natural or synthetic forms.

The other four forms are called tocotrienols. “These different forms have very different functions, without much overlap,” explains Dr. Sen, who uses one of the richest and most consistently pure sources of alpha tocotrienol – extracted from Malaysian Virgin Crude Palm Oil -- in his research. He adds that the differences can even be seen at the source: tocopherols are primarily found in the palm leaves, tocotrienols are abundant in the flesh of the palm fruit.

While tocopherols are generally present in common vegetable oils (i.e. soy and canola), tocotrienols are concentrated in cereal grains (i.e. oat, barley, rye and rice bran), with the highest level found in virgin crude palm oil. Few consumers are aware of tocotrienol due to its low level availability/occurrence in Western diets.

Since its discovery more than 80 years ago, virtually all the studies of vitamin E have focused on its tocopherols. The Ohio State researchers have studied alpha tocotrienol and found that when taken orally it can reach the blood at amounts sufficient to protect neurons. However it’s unlikely that most Americans currently get this benefit even if they take vitamin E supplements because most of those supplements available do not contain alpha tocotrienol.

Nature’s neuro-protector

When the brain is attacked by a stroke, cardiovascular disease or trauma, dangerously toxic substances can build up around the nerve cells. These substances can damage those cells or cause them to degenerate and die. Dr. Sen’s research has been able to demonstrate that when there is a sufficient level of alpha tocotrienol in the neurons, this neurological damage is significantly less. Another significant effect is that alpha tocotrienol may rescue neurons even when applied after an insult to neurotoxins.

“This is not a drug, it is a nutrient,” he stresses. “If you have a high enough concentration of alpha tocotrienol in your body, it could help to prevent neuro-degeneration.”

Dr. Sen has proven that tocotrienols, taken orally, cross the blood-brain barrier. The only way to get tocotrienols into the brain’s neurons is through supplementation over a period of time. Hence, it is prudent to take the tocotrienols to ensure that your brain’s neurons continue to have a significant level of tocotrienols to help confer protection if you were stricken with a stroke. And being a potent antioxidant, it does help to protect the brain from other free radical damage.

“Unlike parts of Asia, we’re a tocotrienol-deficient nation. We simply don’t have enough of it in our diets,” says Dr. Sen. to help protect your brain’s neurons, consider supplementing your diet with 100 mgs twice a day of vitamin E from Malaysian palm oil which is rich in alpha tocotrienol. It takes about eight to 10 weeks of supplementation to build up to an adequate level in your system.

Biography – Dr. Chandan K. Sen

Dr. Sen is a Tenured Professor and Associate Dean for Research at The Ohio State University Medical Center. He also serves as Vice Chairman of Research of the Department of Surgery. DR. Sen is the Editor-in-Chief of the #1 journal in the field, Antioxidants & Redox Signaling.

Dr. Sen’s vitamin E research is supported by NINDS of NIH.