Abstract
Vitamin E is the most important fat-soluble antioxidant especially applied in the animal nutrition. Due to its anti-inflammatory effects on the skin it is contained in many cosmetic products. In fact, if topically applied, vitamin E deactives unstable free radicals providing one of its electrons to the electron deficient free radical making it more stable. As a result, it protects the skin from deleterious effects due to its exposure to exogenous toxic agents such as pollulants, chemicals and sun rays, preventing the propagation of free-radicals. Although, mainly acting as an antioxidant, vitamin E can also exert a pro-oxidant activity. Vitamin E also regulates the functions of vitamin A in the body. This is fundamental because vitamin A itself is a dominant vitamin for skin care.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Abbreviations
- 1H-NMR:
-
Protonic nuclear magnetic resonance
- 13C-NMR:
-
Carbon nuclear magnetic resonance
- FT-IR:
-
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
- GC/MS:
-
Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
- IU:
-
International unit
- LDL:
-
Low-density lipoprotein
- PKC:
-
Protein kinase C
- PUFA:
-
Polyunsaturated fatty acid
- RDA:
-
Recommended daily allowance
- ROS:
-
Reactive oxygen species
- TTP:
-
Tristetraprolin
References
Baumann, L.S. and Spencer, J., 1999. The effects of topical vitamin E on the cosmetic appearance of scars. Dermatologic Surgery 25, 311–315.
Berneburg, M., Grether-Beck, S., Kürten, V., Ruzicka, T., Briviba, K., Sies, H. and Krutmann, J., 1999. Singlet oxygen mediates the UVA-induced generation of the photoaging-associated mitochondrial common deletion Journal of Biological Chemistry 274, 15345–15349.
Booth, S.L., Golly, I., Sacheck, J.M., Roubenoff, R., Dallal, G.E., Hamada, K. and Blumberg, J.B., 2004. Effect of vitamin E supplementation on vitamin K status in adults with normal coagulation status. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 80, 143–148.
Bowry, V.W., Ingold, K.U. and Stocker, R., 1992. Vitamin E in human low-density lipoprotein. When and how this antioxidant becomes a pro-oxidant. Biochemical Journal 288, 341–344.
Brigelius-Flohe, R. and Traber, M.G., 1999. Vitamin E: function and metabolism. Faseb Journal 13, 1145–1155.
Brodkin, R.H. and Bleiberg, J., 1965. Sensitivity to topically applied vitamin E. Arcives of Dermatology 92, 76–77.
Burton, G.W. and Ingold, K.U., 1981. Autoxidation of biological molecules. 1. Antioxidant activity of vitamin E and related chain-breaking phenolic antioxidants in vitro. Journal of American Chemical Society 103, 6472–6477.
Flader, D., Brandsch, C., Hirche, F. and Eder, K., 2003. Effects of megadoses of dietary vitamin E on the antioxidant status of rats fed lard or salmon oil. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research 73, 275–283.
Ingold, K.U., Bowry, V.W., Stocker, R. and Walling, C., 1993. Autoxidation of lipids and antioxidation by alphatocopherol and ubiquinol in homogeneous solution and in aqueous dispersions of lipids: unrecognized consequences of lipid particle size as exemplified by oxidation of human low density lipoprotein. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 90, pp. 45–49.
Jiang, Q., Christen, S., Shigenaga, M.K. and Ames, B.N., 2001. γ-Tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 74, 714–722.
Kontush, A., Finckh, B., Karten, B., Kohlschutter, A. and Beisiegel, U., 1996. Antioxidant and prooxidant activity of alpha-tocopherol in human plasma and low density lipoprotein. Journal of Lipid Research 37, 1436–1448.
Kuriyama, K., Shimizu, T., Horiguchi, T., Watabe, M. and Abe, Y., 2002. Vitamin E ointment at high dose levels suppresses contact dermatitis in rats by stabilizing keratinocytes. Inflammation Research 51, 483–489.
Lademann, J. (ed.), 2010. Skin Pharmacology Physiology 23, 1–335.
Longe J. (ed.), 2004. The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, second edition. Gale Group Publishing, Detroit, MI, USA.
Malafa, M.P., Fokum, F.D., Mowlavi, A., Abusief, M. and King, M., 2002a. Vitamin E inhibits melanoma growth in mice. Surgery 131, 85–91.
Malafa, M.P., Fokum, F.D., Smith, L. and Louis, A., 2002b. Inhibition of angiogenesis and promotion of melanoma dormancy by vitamin E succinate. Annals of Surgical Oncology 9, 1023–1032.
Manzano, D., Aguirre, A., Gardeazabal, J., Eizaguirre, X. and Diaz Perez, J.L., 1994. Allergic contact dermatitis from tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E) and retinol palmitate (vitamin A) in a moisturizing cream. Contact Dermatitis 31, 324.
Meagher, E.A., Barry, O.P., Lawson, J.A., Rokach, J. and FitzGerald, G.A., 2001. Effects of vitamin E on lipid peroxidation in healthy persons. Journal of the American Medical Association 285, 1178–1182.
Mukai, K., Itoh, S. and Morimoto, H., 1992. Stopped-flow kinetic study of vitamin E regeneration reaction with biological hydroquinones (reduced forms of ubiquinone, vitamin K, and tocopherolquinone) in solution. Journal of Biological Chemistry 267, 22277–22281.
Neuzil, J., Tomasetti, M., Zhao, Y., Dong, L.F., Birringer, M., Wang, X.F., Low, P., Wu, K., Salvatore, B.A. and Ralph, S.J., 2007. Vitamin E analogs, a novel group of mitocans as anticancer agents: the importance of being redox-silent. Molecular Pharmacology 71, 1185–1199.
Packer, L., Weber, S.U. and Rimbach, G., 2001. Molecular aspects of alpha-tocotrienol antioxidant action and cell signaling. Journal of Nutrition 131, 369S-373S.
Perrenoud, D., Homberger, H.P., Auderset, P.C., Emmenegger, R., Frenk, E., Saurt, J.H. and Hauser, C., 1994. An epidemic outbreak of papular and follicular contact dermatitis to tocopheryl linoleate in cosmetics. Dermatology (Basel) 189, 225–233.
Porter, N.A., Caldwell, S.E. and Mills, K.A., 1995. Mechanisms of free radical oxidation of unsaturated lipids. Lipids 30, 277–290.
Sander, C.S., Chang, H., Salzmann, S. and Muller, C.S., Ekanayake-Mudiyanselage, S., Elsner, P. and Thiele, J.J., 2002. Photoaging is associated with protein oxidation in human skin in vivo. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 118, 618–625.
Shi, H., Noguchi, N. and Niki, E., 1999. Comparative study on dynamics of antioxidative action of α-tocopheryl hydroquinone, ubiquinol, and α-tocopherol against lipid peroxidation. Free Radical Biology and Medicine 27, 334–346.
Thiele, J.J., Weber, S.U. and Packer, L., 1999. Sebaceous gland secretion is a major physiologic route of vitamin E delivery to skin. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 113, 1006–1010.
Thiele, J.J., Schroeter, C., Hsieh, S.N., Podda, M. and Packer, L., 2001. The antioxidant network of the stratum corneum. Current Problems in Dermatology 29, 26–42.
Weinberg, R.B., VanderWerken, B.S., Anderson, R.A., Stegner, J.E. and Thomas, M.J., 2001. Pro-Oxidant Effect of Vitamin E in Cigarette Smokers Consuming a High Polyunsaturated Fat Diet. Arteriosclerosis. Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 21, 1029–1033.
Wijtmans, M., Pratt, D.A., Valgimigli, L. and Di Labio, G.A., 2003. 6-Amino-3-pyridinols: towards diffusion-controlled chain-breaking antioxidants. Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English 42, 4370–4373.
Yoshida, Y., Niki, E. and Noguchi, N., 2003. Comparative study on the action of tocopherols and tocotrienols as antioxidant: Chemical and physical effects. Chemistry and Physics of Lipids 123, 63–75.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Wageningen Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cassano, R. (2012). Vitamin E chemistry, biological activity and benefits on the skin. In: Preedy, V.R. (eds) Handbook of diet, nutrition and the skin. Human Health Handbooks no. 1, vol 2. Wageningen Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-729-5_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-729-5_9
Publisher Name: Wageningen Academic Publishers
Online ISBN: 978-90-8686-729-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)