Affiliations 

  • 1 Biochemistry Unit, Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 43400 Selangor, Malaysia. marchantia_rati@yahoo.com
Bosn J Basic Med Sci, 2014 Nov 16;14(4):195-204.
PMID: 25428670 DOI: 10.17305/bjbms.2014.4.91

Abstract

Tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF) is an extract of palm oil, which consists of 25% alpha tocopherol (α-TCP) and 75% tocotrienols. TRF has been shown to possess potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotection, and cholesterol lowering activities. Glutamate is the main excitatory amino acid neurotransmitter in the central nervous system of mammalian, which can be excitotoxic, and it has been suggested to play a key role in neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. In this present study, the effects of vitamin E (TRF and α-TCP) in protecting astrocytes against glutamate injury were elucidated. Astrocytes induced with 180 mM of glutamate lead to significant cell death. However, glutamate mediated cytotoxicity was diminished via pre and post supplementation of TRF and α-TCP. Hence, vitamin E acted as a potent antioxidant agent in recovering mitochondrial injury due to elevated oxidative stress, and enhanced better survivability upon glutamate toxicity.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.