The Institute of Human Nutrition, Medical College of Qingdao University, 38 Dengzhou Road, Qingdao, China.
Nutr Res. 2012 May;32(5):328-34. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2012.03.012. Epub 2012 Apr 27.
Elderly people are subject to higher levels of oxidative stress than are young people. Vitamin E, as a powerful antioxidant residing mainly in biomembranes, may provide effective protection against oxidative membrane damage and resultant age-related deterioration, especially in the elderly. We hypothesized that appropriate levels of vitamin E supplementation would protect erythrocyte membranes from oxidative stress and thus improve membrane fluidity in healthy middle-aged and elderly people. To test this, we conducted a 4-month double-blind, randomized trial in which 180 healthy subjects (55-70 years old) were randomly divided into 4 groups: group C (control), and 3 treatment groups in which daily doses of 100 mg (VE1), 200 mg (VE2), and 300 mg (VE3) dl-α-tocopheryl acetate were administered. We measured plasma α-tocopherol concentration, malondialdehyde, and superoxide dismutase levels, erythrocyte hemolysis, and erythrocyte membrane fluidity at the beginning and end of the trial. After 4 months supplementation, plasma α-tocopherol concentrations in the 3 treatment groups had increased by 71%, 78%, and 95%, respectively (all P < .01), and significant decreases in plasma malondialdehyde concentrations were observed in these groups (all P < .05). Erythrocyte hemolysis was decreased by 20% to 38% after vitamin E supplementation (all P < .05), and in addition, groups VE2 and VE3 showed dramatic improvements in erythrocyte membrane fluidity (P < .01). Surprisingly, superoxide dismutase activity also decreased significantly in the treatment groups (all P < .05). In summary, vitamin E supplementation apparently alleviates oxidative stress in healthy middle-aged to elderly people, at least in part by improving erythrocyte membrane fluidity and reducing erythrocyte hemolysis.
老年人比年轻人更容易受到氧化应激的影响。维生素 E 作为一种主要存在于生物膜中的强大抗氧化剂，可能为对抗氧化膜损伤和由此导致的与年龄相关的衰退提供有效保护，尤其是在老年人中。我们假设适当水平的维生素 E 补充剂将保护红细胞膜免受氧化应激，从而改善健康中年和老年人的膜流动性。为了验证这一点，我们进行了一项为期 4 个月的双盲、随机试验，其中 180 名健康受试者（55-70 岁）被随机分为 4 组：C 组（对照组）和 3 个治疗组，每天分别给予 100mg（VE1）、200mg（VE2）和 300mg（VE3）dl-α-生育酚醋酸酯。我们在试验开始和结束时测量了血浆α-生育酚浓度、丙二醛和超氧化物歧化酶水平、红细胞溶血和红细胞膜流动性。补充 4 个月后，3 个治疗组的血浆α-生育酚浓度分别增加了 71%、78%和 95%（均 P <.01），并且这些组的血浆丙二醛浓度显著降低（均 P <.05）。维生素 E 补充后红细胞溶血降低了 20%至 38%（均 P <.05），此外，VE2 和 VE3 组红细胞膜流动性也有明显改善（P <.01）。令人惊讶的是，治疗组的超氧化物歧化酶活性也显著降低（均 P <.05）。总之，维生素 E 补充剂明显减轻了健康中年至老年人的氧化应激，至少部分是通过改善红细胞膜流动性和减少红细胞溶血来实现的。
