- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 19 August 2014 14:16
Pic: NSTA recent study has found that Vitamin E from palm oil can help protect brain cells.
MALAYSIA’s top spot as the first country
to commercialise tocotrienols has been strengthened by the findings of a
two-year human clinical study carried out at Universiti Sains Malaysia,
which now lend promise for the preservation of brain health.
Derived from palm oil, this Vitamin E
supplement, consumed long-term, has been found to protect brain cells
and the nervous system as well as help minimise brain cell injuries,
especially during a stroke.
The clinical study was published in the American Heart Association journal, Stroke.
It is being touted as the first study to provide solid evidence of tocotrienol’s neuroprotective benefits in humans.
The clinical trial, led by USM’s
Professor Dr Yuen Kah Hay and detailed in Stroke, shows that Vitamin E
tocotrienols, derived from palm oil may support white matter health by
weakening the progression of white matter lesions (WML) or
oxygen-starved brain cells.
About 50 per cent of our brain is made
of white matter, which provides connections to various other brain
centres and is key to learning and memory.
WMLs are abnormal regions in the brain
that can be detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and brain WMLs
have been reportedly linked to the development of other
neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“Injury to white matter has been
reported to be the major cause of functional disability in
cerebrovascular disease,” said Yuen, adding that previous animal studies
have reported that palm oil Vitamin E tocotrienols are capable of
preventing damage to white matter during a stroke, and improving blood
circulation to the damaged part of the brain after a stroke.
TWO-YEAR STUDY
The trial was a randomised,
double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted by USM which followed
two groups of volunteers — one with WMLs and the other with no WMLs —
for two years.
One group received 200mg of mixed
tocotrienols (Tocovid Suprabio) twice daily for two years, while the
others were given a placebo. All volunteers were instructed to maintain
their regular diets and physical activity levels.
MRIs were performed at entry into the study (baseline), and then repeated after one year and again after two years.
After two years of supplementation, the
mean WML volume of the placebo group increased whereas those who
received mixed palm tocotrienols remained unchanged, the study
concluded.
“Tocotrienols,” noted Yuen, “have been
in the market for a long time and are sold here and in the US and
Europe. It is through the efforts of Malaysian companies that the world
today knows of the availability of tocotrienols.”
He said that though doctors in Hong Kong
have been prescribing tocotrienols to patients, there is still a need
to convince local health professionals of its neuroprotective benefits.
“They remain sceptical unless we show
them evidence, which is the result of tests on humans. With more studies
coming out that tocotrienols are indeed neuro-protective, the effect is
likely to be seen in better demand for palm Vitamin E tocotrienols
while further improving the image of Malaysian palm oil,” said Yuen.
“As proven by studies carried out
abroad, palm oil is healthy and just as good as olive oil, if one looks
in terms of their cholesterol profile. What is needed now is to to
convince consumers.
“Doctors and pharmacists can do a good
job in advising their patients on palm oil since they are looked on as
opinion leaders in the health field.”
- NST
http://www.nst.com.my/node/24436
http://www.nst.com.my/node/24436
没有评论:
发表评论