Cited by 776Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative StressEdible Oils Quality and AnalysisPhytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities

γ-Tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention

Open access
Jiang, Qing, Christen, Stephan, Shigenaga, Mark K, Ames, Bruce N·2001·The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Abstract

gamma-tocopherol is the major form of vitamin E in many plant seeds and in the US diet, but has drawn little attention compared with alpha-tocopherol, the predominant form of vitamin E in tissues and the primary form in supplements. However, recent studies indicate that gamma-tocopherol may be important to human health and that it possesses unique features that distinguish it from alpha-tocopherol. gamma-Tocopherol appears to be a more effective trap for lipophilic electrophiles than is alpha-tocopherol. gamma-Tocopherol is well absorbed and accumulates to a significant degree in some human tissues; it is metabolized, however, largely to 2,7,8-trimethyl-2-(beta-carboxyethyl)-6-hydroxychroman (gamma-CEHC), which is mainly excreted in the urine. gamma-CEHC, but not the corresponding metabolite derived from alpha-tocopherol, has natriuretic activity that may be of physiologic importance. Both gamma-tocopherol and gamma-CEHC, but not alpha-tocopherol, inhibit cyclooxygenase activity and, thus, possess antiinflammatory properties. Some human and animal studies indicate that plasma concentrations of gamma-tocopherol are inversely associated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. These distinguishing features of gamma-tocopherol and its metabolite suggest that gamma-tocopherol may contribute significantly to human health in ways not recognized previously. This possibility should be further evaluated, especially considering that high doses of alpha-tocopherol deplete plasma and tissue gamma-tocopherol, in contrast with supplementation with gamma-tocopherol, which increases both. We review current information on the bioavailability, metabolism, chemistry, and nonantioxidant activities of gamma-tocopherol and epidemiologic data concerning the relation between gamma-tocopherol and cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1093/ajcn/74.6.714

Cites

94 of 94 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Jiang, Q., Christen, S., Shigenaga, M. K., & Ames, B. N.
Affiliations
University of Bern (CH)
Corresponding author
Ames, Bruce N
Venue
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2001-12
Volume
74
Issue
6
Pages
714-722
ISSN
0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2097481089
Cited by
776
References
94
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 43 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 29 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 31 · 2012: 35
FWCI
4.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Edible Oils Quality and Analysis
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities
Keywords
gamma-tocopherol, vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol, tocopherol metabolism, natriuretic activity, cyclooxygenase inhibition, anti-inflammatory activity, cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer
MeSH terms
Aging, Animals, Antioxidants, Biological Availability, Cardiovascular Diseases, Chromans, Humans, Intestinal Absorption, Neoplasms, Nutritive Value, Propionates, Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases, Vitamin E Deficiency, alpha-Tocopherol, gamma-Tocopherol

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review