Vitamin Supports Prostate Health

A recent study evaluated the effect of supplementation with tocotrienols, a form of vitamin E, on prostate cancer using a mouse model. The American Cancer Society states that approximately 1 in every 6 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetimes, and 1 in 36 will die from the disease.

There are eight forms of vitamin E: four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma and delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma and delta). In this new study, researchers fed mice that are genetically predisposed to develop adenocarcinoma of the prostate (TRAMP) and normal mice a diet supplemented with various amounts of mixed tocotrienols or the standard diet from 8 weeks to 24 weeks of age.

The results of the study showed that the mice fed the tocotrienol-supplemented diet had a lower incidence of tumor formation compared to the mice fed the standard diet. Additionally, they had decreased weight of the genito-urinary apparatus. In the transgenic mice, the group that received the tocotrienol-supplemented diet had significantly reduced levels of high-grade neoplastic lesions compared to the transgenic mice fed the standard diet. This reduction was associated with an increase in the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins including BAD (Bcl2 antagonist of cell death), caspase-3 and cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p27, which are signaling proteins that induce programmed death (apoptosis) of the cells and regulate the cell cycle.

The study authors stated, “Taken together, our results show that by modulating cell cycle regulatory proteins and increasing expression of proapoptotic proteins, mixed tocotrienols suppress prostate tumorigenesis in the TRAMP mice.”

Reference:

Barve A, Khor TO, Reuhl K, Reddy B, Newmark H, Kong AN. Mixed Tocotrienols Inhibit Prostate Carcinogenesis in TRAMP Mice. Nutr Cancer. 2010 Aug;62(6):789-94.