It is known tocotrienols have an effect on cholesterol metabolism. They appear to inhibit functions of an enzyme called 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR-CoA), thus reducing the amount of cholesterol produced by the liver... so they seems to have a statin-like function. Tocotrienols pass the BBB (beeing lipophilic) and so they seems to reduce the cholesterol & COQ10 production also in the Brain (not so nice).
Here is said tocotrienols also protects neuronal cells against toxicity induced by glutamate as well as by a number of other toxins. At nanomolar concentration, tocotrienol, completely protected neurons by an antioxidant-independent mechanism.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/15753140
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/12656204
http://www.jbc.org/c...8/15/11230.long
Also simvastatin is neuroprotective (see below)... I see a lot of similarities with this two drugs...
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/21731633
Effect of astaxanthin in combination with alpha-tocopherol or ascorbic acid against oxidative damage in diabetic ODS rats.
Abstract
The present study was performed to investigate the effect of astaxanthin in combination with other antioxidants against oxidative damage in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic Osteogenic Disorder Shionogi (ODS) rats. Diabetic-ODS rats were divided into five groups: control, astaxanthin, ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, and tocotrienol. Each of the four experimental groups was administered a diet containing astaxanthin (0.1 g/kg), in combination with ascorbic acid (3.0 g/kg), alpha-tocopherol (0.1 g/kg), or tocotrienol (0.1 g/kg) for 20 wk. The effects of astaxanthin with other antioxidants on lipid peroxidation, urinary 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) excretion, serum creatinine (Cr) level, creatinine clearance (Ccr), and urinary protein content were assessed. The serum lipid peroxide levels and chemiluminescent (CL) intensity in the liver of the alpha-tocopherol and tocotrienol groups were significantly reduced in comparison to that of the control group. In the alpha-tocopherol group, urinary 8-OHdG excretion, serum Cr level, Ccr, urinary albumin excretion, and urinary protein concentration were significantly decreased as compared with those in the control group. Additionally, the CL intensity in the kidney of the alpha-tocopherol group was significantly lower, but that of the ascorbic acid group was significantly higher than that in the control group. These results indicate that dietary astaxanthin in combination with alpha-tocopherol has an inhibitory effect on oxidative stress. On the other hand, our study suggests that excessive ascorbic acid intake increases lipid peroxidation in diabetic rats.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18797156
Astaxanthin can be a nice substitution (maybe even better) of tocotrienols in combination with alpha-tocopherol ?
I'm a bit scared with tocotrienols becouse its beeing (beside statin-like) antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic: cytostatic... (a bit like methotrexate) specially if taken toghether with other drugs (for instance statins !!!), I use Pravastatin combined with Q10 after long study done on statins... I find it beeing really good for my psoriasis and free of bad effects (also my libido is totally ok with Pravastatin).
http://www.longecity...tin-not-so-bad/
Pro-apoptotic effect is a concern specially where BRAIN CELLS are involved... and tocotriensols pass trough BBB (also simvastatin pass... as I know pravastatin does not really pass BBB beeing idrophilic and IMHO safe but for sure it enters into Liver cells by active transport... so I argue it stays mainly in blood vessels (and maybe enters into T-cells, macophages, neutrophills floating in blood) and liver and not in other body areas (specially Brain).. and this is really ok).
http://www.pharmacyt...03/2005-03-9399
http://ajpgi.physiol...264/1/G36.short
Tocotrienol combination therapy results in synergistic anticancer response.
Vitamin E represents a family of compounds that is divided into two subgroups called tocopherols and tocotrienols, which act as important antioxidants that regulate peroxidation reactions and control free-radical production within the body. However, many of the biological effects of vitamin E are mediated independently of its antioxidant activity. Although tocopherols and tocotrienols have the same basic chemical structure characterized by a long phytyl chain attached to a chromane ring, only tocotrienols display potent anticancer activity, by modulating multiple intracellular signaling pathways associated with tumor cell proliferation and survival, and combination therapy with other chemotherapeutic agents result in a synergistic anticancer response. Combination therapy is most effective when tocotrienols are combined with agents that have complementary anticancer mechanisms of action. These findings strongly suggest that the synergistic antiproliferative and apoptotic effects demonstrated by combined low dose treatment of γ-tocotrienol with other chemotherapeutic agents may provide significant health benefits in the prevention and/or treatment of breast cancer in women, while at the same time avoiding tumor resistance and toxic side effects associated with high dose monotherapy.
Preparation, characterization, and anticancer effects of simvastatin-tocotrienol lipid nanoparticles.
Previously it was shown that combined low dose treatment of tocotrienols and statins synergistically inhibited the growth of highly malignant +SA mammary epithelial cells in culture. Therefore, the objective of the present work was to prepare and characterize lipid nanoparticles that combined simvastatin and tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF) as potential anticancer therapy. The entrapment of simvastatin in the oily nanocompartments, which were formed by TRF inclusion into the solid matrix of the nanoparticles, was verified by its high entrapment efficiency and the absence of endothermic or crystalline peaks when blends were analyzed by DSC and PXRD, respectively. The release of simvastatin from the nanoparticles in sink conditions was characterized by an initial burst release of approximately 20% in 10h followed by a plateau. No significant change in particle size (approximately 100 nm) was observed after storage for six months. The anticancer activity of the nanoparticles was verified in vitro by observing their antiproliferative effects on malignant +SA mammary epithelial cells. The IC(50) of the reference alpha-tocopherol nanoparticles was 17.7 microM whereas the IC(50) of the simvastatin/TRF nanoparticles was 0.52 microM, which confirmed the potency of the combined treatment and its potential in cancer therapy.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/20123009
Edited by brunotto, 05 February 2012 - 12:26 PM.
