Intestinal absorption of vitamin E in low birth weight infants.

Intestinal absorption of dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate was studied in low birth weight infants. Vitamin E was given from the first day of life, either as a water-soluble (Ephynal) or as a lipid-soluble preparation (E-vitamin). Serum-alpha-tocopherol concentrations were determined before treatment and on days three and seven. Treatment with both vitamin E preparations increased serum-alpha-tocopherol on day three and seven. The mean serum-alpha-tocopherol +/- SD on day seven were 41.4 +/- 10.7 mumol/l for the Ephynal group and 26.7 +/- 12.5 mumol/l for the E-vitamin group, this difference being statistically significant (p less than 0.025). Oral feeding seems to influence the absorption of tocopherol from E-vitamin, as the infants with the highest serum-alpha-tocopherol concentrations were those with the highest oral/total feeding ratios. In infants with birth weight less than 1 000 g treatment with 25 mg Ephynal/day was found to increase serum-alpha-tocopherol on day seven to 46.9 +/- 12.3 mumol/l (mean +/- SD). This concentration is comparable to those reported by others using higher doses of oral vitamin E.