The Effect of Age on Vitamin E Status, Metabolism, and Function: Metabolism as Assessed by Labeled Tocopherols

• Published in: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol. 1031; no. 1; pp. 40 - 43
• Main Authors: BRIGELIUS-FLOHÉ, REGINA, ROOB, JOHANNES M., TIRAN, BEATE, WUGA, SANDRA, RIBALTA, JOSEP, ROCK, EDMOND, WINKLHOFER-ROOB, BRIGITTE M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2004
• Subjects: Absorption; Adult; Aged; Aging; alpha-Tocopherol - blood; alpha-Tocopherol - pharmacokinetics; alpha-Tocopherol - urine; Austria; Chromans - urine; Deuterium; gamma-Tocopherol - blood; gamma-Tocopherol - pharmacokinetics; gamma-Tocopherol - urine; Humans; Male; metabolism; Middle Aged; Nutritional Status; Propionates - urine; Tocopherols - metabolism; Tocopherols - pharmacokinetics; vitamin E; Vitamin E - metabolism; α-CEHCs; α-tocopherol; γ-CEHCs; γ-tocopherol
• ISSN: 0077-8923; 1749-6632
• DOI: 10.1196/annals.1331.004

: The effects of age on vitamin E metabolism were studied in 97 healthy 20‐75‐year‐old male nonsmoking Austrian volunteers of the VITAGE project. After a single oral intake of 30 mg d6‐RRR‐α‐ and d2‐RRR‐γ‐tocopheryl acetate, blood and 24‐hour urine was collected. Deuterated tocopherols in plasma and deuterated urinary metabolites were analyzed by GC‐MS. A first evaluation revealed a similar uptake of d6‐α‐ and d2‐γ‐tocopherol during the first 6 hours, and then d2‐γ‐tocopherol started to decrease. Urinary d2‐γ‐ carboxyethyl hydroxychroman metabolites (CEHCs) exceeded those of d6‐α‐CEHCs by about 10 times. There was no effect of age. Thus, there might be no need for a higher vitamin E intake for healthy elderly nonsmoking men.