Alpha-Tocopheryl Succinate May Hold Anti-Cancer Promise

Alpha-Tocopheryl Succinate May Hold Anti-Cancer Promise

DENVER--Alpha-tocopheryl succinate was deemed the most effective form of vitamin E in 1982, when it was compared to alpha-tocopherol, alpha-tocopheryl acetate and alpha-tocopheryl nicotinate for inducing differentiation, inhibiting proliferation and encouraging apoptosis of cancer cells, according to researchers from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. They published a research review of alpha-tocopheryl succinate in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (22, 2:108-17, 2003) (www.jacn.org), noting several in vitro and animal studies from the last 20 years have confirmed this observation. "The most exciting aspect of this alpha-tocopheryl succinate effect is that it does not affect the proliferation of most normal cells," the researchers wrote. They added that in spite of promising research in the realm of anti-cancer properties, the value of the specific form of vitamin E has not drawn significant attention, and more research is needed for its potential role in cancer management. Researchers concluded, "alpha-tocopheryl succinate alone or in combination with dietary micronutrients can be useful as an adjunct to standard cancer therapy by increasing tumor response and possibly decreasing some of the toxicities to normal cells."

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines