Tocotrienols–Better Hair Stronger Arteries!

One Reply to “Tocotrienols–Better Hair Stronger Arteries!”

1. Dear sir,
   I am pleased to see your posting on tocotrienol and hair growth.

   I believe that your readers would like to know more about this unique form of vitamin E called tocotrienols in skin nutrition.

   Allow me to share the following information with you and your readers on the science of Tocomin® natural full spectrum palm tocotrienol complex (super vitamin E) specifically on skin nutrition vis a vis anti-aging, hair growth and heart protection.

   As all of us are aware, Vitamin E, synthetic or natural is widely used in the cosmetic/personal care industry. The main reason for the use of vitamin E was for its antioxidant properties in the protection of skin against the onslaught of free radicals or oxidative stress caused by chemical insult and UV rays in our daily atmosphere. Most of the Vitamin E used in cosmetic is mainly of the tocopherol form (synthetic and natural forms).

   Fueled by the many recent scientific publications on the benefits of tocotrienols in cosmetic application and women’s health, the use of tocotrienol as a more potent form of vitamin E (40 – 60 times more potent than the normal alpha-tocopherol vitamin E and its preferential accumulation in the strata corneum of the skin), has been gaining tremendous attention in the oral and topical cosmetic and personal care industry. Exciting science and research are being conducted on tocotrienol for its superior protection of skin and skin aging compared to tocopherol.

   Dr. Nicholas Perricone (Dermatologist at the Yale Medical Center), in his NY Times’ best seller book – “The Wrinkle Cure”, advocated the use of tocotrienols (High Performance Vitamin E) in cream to promote skin health and prevent skin aging.

   Tocotrienols and tocopherols are members of the Vitamin E family. While very similar in structure, tocotrienol differ in that it has an unsaturated side chain compared to a saturated side chain in tocopherol. Due to its unsaturated side chain, tocotrienol has exhibited numerous unique and additional biological activities, which are not shown by tocopherol. As such, tocotrienol has been touted as the Vitamin E of the 21st Century.

   The research on tocotrienols in the protection of skin has been fairly new. Many more research is currently being conducted either by companies or universities to understand and evaluate the efficacy of tocotrienols in skin protection and skin nourishment. Scientists believe that tocotrienol plays a major and important role in the protection of the skin especially in the prevention of oxidative stress and skin anti-aging and wound-healing as per your application.

   Essentially, these are the known benefits of tocotrienols (Super Vitamin E) over tocopherol (regular vitamin E) for skin nutrition and nourishment :-

   i) Tocotrienol is a natural member of the Vitamin E and it is a much more potent antioxidant (40-60 times in biological system) compared to the tocopherol. Hence confer better and efficient protection against the onslaught of free radicals generated in the skin (Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 1991; 10 : 263 – 275)

   ii) Fluidity properties of tocotrienols – Tocotrienols, with their unsaturated side chain, allow them to pass through the membrane bi-layer (mainly made up of unsaturated fatty acid) in a more efficient manner and faster rate compared to the all saturated tocopherol. (Suzuki YJ, Tsuchiya M, et al., Biochemistry, 1993; 32 : pp : 10692 –10699; Packer L, et al., Biochemistry, 1993; 32 (40) : pp : 10692 – 10699)

   iii) Tocotrienol, either through oral or topical application has been shown to preferentially accumulate at the strata corneum (upper most 5 micron of the skin). Our body preferentially accumulates tocotrienols form of vitamin E in the skin. The poly-unsaturated isoprenoid side chain of tocotrienols allows them to move efficiently and effectively across the unsaturated cell bilayer membrane when compared to alpha-tocopherol. Being a more potent antioxidant, it is the skin’s first line defense (Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1997; 6(1) : 63 – 67; J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol., 2000; 46(3) : 141-3).

   iv) Since tocotrienol is a more potent biological antioxidant, it confers greater protection against oxidative damage and also is the skin’s first line of defense against UV-induced oxidative damage. Hence tocotrienol actually preserves tocopherols in the skin (Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 1997; 22(5) :761 – 769).

   v) Studies also showed that tocotrienols do prevent skin aging and oxidation of the collagen matrix under the skin (FEBS Letter, 1997; 401; 167 – 170).

   vi) Researchers at the School of Medicine, Tokai University, Japan found that administration of palm tocotrienol complex resulted in a reduction of oxidative stress risks and hence may be a possible compound for anti-aging. Oxidative damage due to free radicals or reactive oxygen species has been implicated in the process of aging (“Free Radical Theory of Aging”). It was found that palm tocotrienol complex significantly prevented protein oxidation and reduced the accumulation of protein carbonyl (a good indicator of oxidative stress during aging). In this study, the researchers used C. elegans, a fascinating long worm whose entire collection of genes has literary been read, making it probably the most completely understood organism. Thus, it provides scientists with an ideal model in learning crucial lessons about many diseases such as aging, cancer, muscular dystrophies, etc. Palm tocotrienol complex recovered the mean life span of the UVB irradiated group compared to the non-irradiated group, whereas alpha-tocopherol administration did not give a significant recovery. This indicates that palm tocotrienol complex has a greater protective function against acute oxidative stress induced by UVB irradiation compared to the regular alpha-tocopherol vitamin E (J. Gerontol. A. Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., 2000; 55(6) : B280-285).

   v) Carotech was reecently granted a US Patent No : 7,211,274 for tocotrienol in promoting hair growth. Prof. KH Yuen and colleagues from the University of Science Malaysia conducted the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the effect of Tocomin®SupraBio™ Full Spectrum Palm Tocotrienol Complex on hair growth. 28 subjects were randomized to receive either 50mg of tocotrienol complex (Tocomin®SupraBio™) or placebo, twice daily after food over a period of 8 months. Hair count in the area (2 x 2 cm) of hair thinning and weight of hair (20 strands) were conducted at each visits. At the end of the supplementation period, all subjects in the tocotrienol group had positive response, recoding in the number of hair in the evaluation area. An average of 41.8% increase in the number of hair was observed after 8-month tocotrienol supplementation, with :-

   8 volunteers (40.0%) showed > 50% hair growth

   1 volunteer (5.0%) showed 25-50% hair growth

   9 volunteers (45.0%) showed 10-25% hair growth

   1 volunteer (5.0%) showed < 10% hair growth

   Supplementation with Tocomin®SupraBio™ Full Spectrum palm Tocotrienol Complex may promote hair growth and increase the number of hair in individuals experiencing hair loss.

   Tocotrienols and heart protection:
   Tocotrienols inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, the same enzyme inhibited by statins. Both animal and human studies have demonstrated the cholesterol lowering action of tocotrienols. Patients having received 100-200mg of tocotrienols per day for 4-10weeks had a 8-25% LDL-Cholesterol reduction. In contrast, tocopherols do not possess cholesterol lowering activity. Furthermore, high concentration of alpha-tocopherol (above 30% ratio) tend to suppress the cholesterol lowering action of tocotrienols.

   A double blind placebo controlled human study conducted by researchers at the Kenneth Jordan Heart Foundation showed tocotrienols reverse atherosclerosis in patients with carotid stenosis (narrowing of artery supplying the brain). In this study, daily supplementation of 240mg of palm tocotrienol complex for 6 months led to regression of atherosclerotic plaque and stabilized conditions in 92% of the patients. In contrast, none of the patients receiving placebo showed atherosclerotic regression, instead 40% showed progressive disease.

   A recent randomized controlled clinical trial demonstrated that palm tocotrienol complex reduced arterial stiffness in healthy adults after 2 months of oral supplementation. Arterial stiffness is a predictor of cardiovascular events even in healthy individuals. Supplementation from as low as 50mg/day of palm tocotrienol complex (Tocomin SupraBio) for 2 months improves arterial compliance hence reduces the risks of cardiovascular diseases.

   All the tocotrienol isomers are cardioprotective but the gamma-tocotrienol is the most cardioprotective of all the isomers. In a recent study, researchers at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine found that gamma-tocotrienol has the most potent effect in improving post-ischemic ventricular function and also reducing myocardial infarct size in rats. These researchers concluded that tocotrienols have much higher cardioprotective properties compared to regular alpha-tocopherol vitamin E.

   References:
   1. Qureshi et al. Am J Clin Nutr 1991m 53(S4), 1021S-1026S.
   2. Qureshi et al. Lipids 1995, 30(12):1171-7.
   3. Qureshi et al. Nutr Biochem 1997,8,290-8.
   4. Kooyenga et al. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 1997,6(1),72-5.
   5. Rasool et al. Arch Pharm Res 2008, 31(9),1212-7.
   6. Das et al. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 294:H970-H978, 2008.

   I would also like to invite you and your readers to visit the leading educational website for tocotrienol : http://www.tocotrienol.org. This website is dedicated to the dissemination of information about tocotrienol to the general public/consumers. It is not technical though.

   Thank you

   Sincerely
   WH Leong
   VP, Carotech Inc

   Reply