Study on the effect of megavitamin E supplementation in man

Abstract

A study was conducted to examine the effect of megavitamin E supplementation in healthy college student volunteers. Two hundred two subjects were randomly assigned to either of two treatment groups, one control and the other experimental. Each subject in the experimental group orally received 600 IU dl-α-tocopheryl acetate daily, while each subject in the control group received identical placebo tablets. The experiment was “double blind” and proceeded for a period of 4 weeks. On day 0 and on day 28 each subject had a fasting blood sample taken for laboratory analysis and completed a questionnaire. Results showed that megavitamin E supplementation did not have an effect on work performance, sexuality, and general well-being and did not cause muscular weakness or gastrointestinal disturbances based on subjective evaluations. Megavitamin E supplementation did not have an effect on prothrombin time, total blood leukocyte count, or serum creatine Phosphokinase activity. Serum cholesterol levels were slightly elevated in both males and females by vitamin E supplementation, but the elevations were not statistically significant. Serum triglyceride levels were significantly elevated in vitamin E-supplemented females, but only slightly increased in the supplemented males. High intake of vitamin E significantly elevated the level of this vitamin in serum and the elevation was greater in females than in males. Megavitamin E supplementation significantly decreased serum T-3 and T-4 levels in males and in females not using steroid oral contraceptive agents. This effect was not seen in females using oral contraceptive agents. The study indicated that under our experimental conditions, megavitamin E supplementation does not have a significant effect, beneficial or undesirable, on general health conditions, but it can cause a significant reduction of serum thyroid hormone levels and also an elevation of serum triglyceride levels in females.