Review article
Vitamin E and oxidative stress

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Abstract

Oxidative stress can results from or be enhanced by a large variety of conditions, including nutritional imbalance, exposure to chemical and physical agents in the environmental, strenous physical activities, injury, and heredity disorders. While many enzymes and compounds are involved in protecting cells from the adverse effects of oxidative stress, vitamin E occupies an important and unique position in the overall antioxidant defense. The antioxidant function of vitamin E is closely related to the status of many dietary components. Vitamin E-depleted animals are generally more susceptible to the adverse effects of environmental agents than supplemented animals. Also, vitamin E supplementation is beneficial to certain groups of the population. However, supplementing vitamin E in experimental subjects maintained on a nutritionally adequate diet does not always provide additional protection. Differential metabolic responses in various organs and differences in experimental conditions often contribute to the discrepancies in the literature. The lack of clear evidence for the occurrence of lipid peroxidation or antioxidant function of vitamin E in vivo can be attributed partly to the presence of active pathways for metabolizing hydroperoxides, aldehydes, and other oxidation products. Specific and sensitive techniques for measuring lipid peroxidation products in biological systems are essential for understanding the role of free radical-induced lipid peroxidation in tissue damage and antioxidant function of vitamin E in vivo.

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    Ching K(uang) Chow graduated from the National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, with a B.S. degree in Agricultural Chemistry in 1963. He received his M.S. degree in Animal Science, in 1966, and Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences, in 1969, both from the University of Illinois, Urbana. He is currently Professor of the Department of Nutrition & Food Science and the Graduate Center for Toxicology at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. His major research interest has been relating to the mechanisms of oxidative cell injury and antioxidant defense.

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