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Tocotrienol supplementation may improve lipid profiles in patients undergoing hemodialysis
Supplementation with vitamin E tocotrienols improved the lipid profiles of patients with end-stage renal disease on chronic hemodialysis, according to findings from a recent study.
The randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, parallel trial included 81 participants who were assigned vitamin E tocotrienol-rich fraction (180 mg tocotrienols, 40 mg tocopherols) or placebo.
Lipid-profile endpoints included plasma total cholesterol, triacylglycerols and HDL. Other endpoints included C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, total antioxidant power, malondialdehyde, cholesteryl-ester transfer protein activity and apolipoprotein A1.
Zulfitri A. Mat Daud, MS, of Wayne State University, Detroit, and colleagues found no difference in nutritional, inflammatory or oxidative biomarkers when comparing the treatment group vs. the placebo group or when comparing the treatment group at baseline vs. the treatment group at other time points.
However, treatment was associated with improvement in lipid profiles compared with the placebo group, the researchers found.
At 12 weeks, normalized plasma triacylglycerols in the treatment group were reduced by 33 mg/dL (P=.032), but were unchanged in the placebo group. At 16 weeks, normalized plasma triacylglycerols in the treatment group were reduced by 36 mg/dL (P=.072), but remained unchanged in the placebo group.
Normalized plasma HDL was higher in the treatment group compared with the placebo group at 12 weeks and 16 weeks (P<.05 for all).
Daud and colleagues also observed higher plasma apolipoprotein A1 concentration (P<.02) and lower cholesteryl-ester transfer protein activity (P<.001) in the treatment group at 12 weeks and 16 weeks.
Previous research did not show an association between vitamin E tocotrienol-rich fraction and improved lipid profiles, but that may been because of the “shorter duration, a smaller dose and smaller sample size” in those studies, the researchers wrote.
“It is possible that [tocotrienol] therapeutics may provide benefit due to their ability to penetrate vital organ tissues,” Daud and colleagues wrote. “However, this hypothesis is purely speculative at present and warrants further investigation in a larger cohort.”
Disclosure: The agents and placebos were formulated and donated by Carotino (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.