Gamma tocotrienol assists bone strength

A new study shows that vitamin E, and in particular the form known as gamma tocotrienol¹, helps build stronger bones with better biomechanical strength.
The authors concluded, “Vitamin E supplementation, especially with the gamma isomer, improves bone structure, which contributed to stronger bone. Therefore, vitamin E has the potential to be used as an anabolic agent to treat osteoporosis or as bone supplements for young adults to prevent osteoporosis in later years.”
This new study goes along with three earlier studies lending support to the tocotrienol form of vitamin E as a superior bone support nutrient.  The earlier studies showed that tocotrienols reduce inflammation in bone² that leads to bone loss, can offset the harmful effects of steroid use³ on bones, and assist in the process of normal bone calcification⁴.
While tocotrienols are often used for cardiovascular and brain health, here we see that they are yet another wonderful nutrient for bone health.

 Referenced Studies:

1. ^ Gamma Tocotrienol Helpful for Bone Building   J Bone Miner Metab.  Shuid AN, Mehat Z, Mohamed N, Muhammad N, Soelaiman IN.
2. ^ Tocotrienols Help Stop Bone Loss  Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol.  Ahmad NS, Khalid BA, Luke DA, Ima Nirwana S.
3. ^ Tocotrienols Prevent Bone Loss and Weight Gain During Steroid Treatment  J Med Food.  Ima-Nirwana S, Suhaniza S.
4. ^ Tocotrienols Help Bone Calcification  Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.  Norazlina M, Ima-Nirwana S, Abul Gapor MT, Abdul Kadir Khalid B. 

 Shuid AN, Mehat Z, Mohamed N, Muhammad N, Soelaiman IN. Vitamin E exhibits bone anabolic actions in normal male rats. J Bone Miner Metab.  2009 September
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine UKM, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jln Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Study Abstract:

Recently, vitamin E has been found to promote the bone structure of nicotine-treated rats well above their baseline values, thus suggesting that vitamin E may have some anabolic action. A bone anabolic agent acts by improving the bone structure leading to stronger bone. To assess the possible anabolic action vitamin E on bone, we supplemented alpha-tocopherol (ATF) or gamma-tocotrienol (GTT) at 60 mg/kg or vehicle [normal control (NC) group] for 4 months to normal male rats and measured their bone structure and biomechanical properties. Histomorphometric analysis revealed that vitamin E-supplemented rats have better trabecular volume, thickness, number, and separation than rats receiving vehicle only. For the first time we reported that GTT improves all the parameters of bone biomechanical strength, while ATF only improved some of the parameters compared to the NC group. Vitamin E supplementation, especially with the gamma isomer, improves bone structure, which contributed to stronger bone. Therefore, vitamin E has the potential to be used as an anabolic agent to treat osteoporosis or as bone supplements for young adults to prevent osteoporosis in later years

Ahmad NS, Khalid BA, Luke DA, Ima Nirwana S. Tocotrienol offers better protection than tocopherol from free radical-induced damage of rat bone. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol.  2005 September  32(9):761-70.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Study Abstract:

1. Free radicals generated by ferric nitrilotriacetate (FeNTA) can activate osteoclastic activity and this is associated with elevation of the bone resorbing cytokines interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6. In the present study, we investigated the effects of 2 mg/kg FeNTA (2 mg iron/kg) on the levels of serum IL-1 and IL-6 with or without supplementation with a palm oil tocotrienol mixture or alpha-tocopherol acetate in Wistar rats.
2. The FeNTA was found to elevate levels of IL-1 and IL-6. Only the palm oil tocotrienol mixture at doses of 60 and 100 mg/kg was able to prevent FeNTA-induced increases in IL-1 (P < 0.01). Both the palm oil tocotrienol mixture and alpha-tocopherol acetate, at doses of 30, 60 and 100 mg/kg, were able to reduce FeNTA-induced increases in IL-6 (P < 0.05). Therefore, the palm oil tocotrienol mixture was better than pure alpha-tocopherol acetate in protecting bone against FeNTA (free radical)-induced elevation of bone-resorbing cytokines.
3. Supplementation with the palm oil tocotrienol mixture or alpha-tocopherol acetate at 100 mg/kg restored the reduction in serum osteocalcin levels due to ageing, as seen in the saline (control) group (P < 0.05). All doses of the palm oil tocotrienol mixture decreased urine deoxypyridinoline cross-link (DPD) significantly compared with the control group, whereas a trend for decreased urine DPD was only seen for doses of 60 mg/kg onwards of alpha-tocopherol acetate (P < 0.05).
4. Bone histomorphometric analyses have shown that FeNTA injections significantly lowered mean osteoblast number (P < 0.001) and the bone formation rate (P < 0.001), but raised osteoclast number (P < 0.05) and the ratio of eroded surface/bone surface (P < 0.001) compared with the saline (control) group. Supplementation with 100 mg/kg palm oil tocotrienol mixture was able to prevent all these FeNTA-induced changes, but a similar dose of alpha-tocopherol acetate was found to be effective only for mean osteoclast number. Injections of FeNTA were also shown to reduce trabecular bone volume (P < 0.001) and trabecular thickness (P < 0.05), whereas only supplementation with 100 mg/kg palm oil tocotrienol mixture was able to prevent these FeNTA-induced changes.

Ima-Nirwana S, Suhaniza S. Effects of tocopherols and tocotrienols on body composition and bone calcium content in adrenalectomized rats replaced with dexamethasone. J Med Food.  2004 April  7(1):45-51.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Study Abstract:

Long-term glucocorticoid treatment is associated with severe side effects, such as obesity and osteoporosis. A palm oil-derived vitamin E mixture had been shown previously to be protective against osteoporosis in rats given 120 microg/kg dexamethasone daily for 12 weeks. In this study we determined the effects of two isomers of vitamin E (i.e., palm oil-derived gamma-tocotrienol and the commercially available alpha-tocopherol, 60 mg/kg of body weight/day) on body composition and bone calcium content in adrenalectomized rats replaced with two doses of dexamethasone, 120 microg/kg and 240 microg/kg daily. Treatment period was 8 weeks. gamma-Tocotrienol (60 mg/kg of body weight/day) was found to reduce body fat mass and increase the fourth lumbar vertebra bone calcium content in these rats, while alpha-tocopherol (60 mg/kg of body weight/day) was ineffective. Therefore, in conclusion, palm oil-derived gamma-tocotrienol has the potential to be utilized as a prophylactic agent in prevention of the side effects of long-term glucocorticoid use.

Norazlina M, Ima-Nirwana S, Abul Gapor MT, Abdul Kadir Khalid B. Tocotrienols are needed for normal bone calcification in growing female rats. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.  2002 November  11(3):194-9.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

Study Abstract:

In this study the effects of vitamin E deficiency and supplementation on bone calcification were determined using 4-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats weighed between 180 and 200 g. The study was divided in three parts. In experiment I the rats were given normal rat chow (RC, control group), a vitamin E deficient (VED) diet or a 50% vitamin E deficient (50%VED) diet. In experiment 2 the rats were given VED supplemented with 30 mg/kg palm vitamin E (PVE30), 60 mg/kg palm vitamin E (PVE60) or 30 mg/kg pure alpha-tocopherol (ATF). In experiment 3 the rats were fed RC and given the same supplements as in experiment 2. The treatment lasted 8 months. Vitamin E derived from palm oil contained a mixture of ATF and tocotrienols. Rats on the VED and 50%VED diets had lower bone calcium content in the left femur compared to the RC group (91.6 +/- 13.3 mg and 118.3 +/- 26.0 mg cf 165.7 +/- 15.2 mg; P < 0.05) and L5 vertebra (28.3 +/- 4.0 mg and 39.5 +/- 6.2 mg compared with 51.4 +/- 5.8 mg; P < 0.05). Supplementing the VED group with PVE60 improved bone calcification in the left femur (133.6 +/- 5.0 mg compared with 91.6 +/- 13.3 mg; P < 0.05) and L5 vertebra (41.3 +/- 3.3 mg compared with 28.3 +/- 4.0 mg; P < 0.05) while supplementation with PVE30 improved bone calcium content in the L5 vertebra (35.6 +/- 3.1 mg compared with 28.3 +/- 4.0 mg; P < 0.05). However, supplementation with ATF did not change the lumbar and femoral bone calcium content compared to the VED group. Supplementing the RC group with PVE30, PVE60 or ATF did not cause any significant changes in bone calcium content. In conclusion, vitamin E deficiency impaired bone calcification. Supplementation with the higher dose of palm vitamin E improved bone calcium content, but supplementation with pure ATF alone did not. This effect may be attributed to the tocotrienol content of palm vitamin E. Therefore, tocotrienols play an important role in bone calcification.