EXPLORE!

Vitamin E and its role in insulin resistance and oxidative stress

  1725 Views

eMediNexus    14 January 2021

A study showed that the administration of 800 IU Vitamin E daily or a matching placebo for three months in randomly allocated overweight individuals led to a significant reduction in the fasting plasma glucose concentration and insulin concentrations. The study results are indicative of the fact that vitamin E improves oxidative stress and hepatocellular function1.

A study conducted on type 1 and 2 diabetic patients showed that vitamin E supplementation played an essential role in delaying the onset of diabetic complications and slowing the progression of the complications. In this study, the data analysis showed that the Post Prandial Blood Sugar, Total Cholesterol, and diastolic blood pressure declined gradually and significantly2.

Vitamin E is one of the best antioxidants that helps prevent damage to the lipids by oxygen-free radicals. When highly reactive species attach the lipids within the cell membranes or the lipoproteins, they start the lipid chain reaction peroxidation. Vitamin E hinders this chain reaction, e.g., it acts as a chain-breaking inhibitor of lipid peroxidation2.

Two crucial results were observed in the study:

  1. The number of patients who developed cardiovascular complications and diabetic retinopathy was significantly low in the vitamin E group compared with the control2.
  2. A gradual and insignificant reduction in the postprandial blood glucose, total cholesterol, and diastolic blood pressure in the test group at 24 months compared to those in the control group2.

It has been seen earlier that there is a considerable correlation between the increased blood sugar level and the depletion of the antioxidants. This depletion was a significant risk factor for developing the complications, and antioxidant supplementation with Vitamin E could prevent the development of the

The study by Jain and Jain suggests that Vitamin E therapy in diabetes mellitus prevents the development of late complications like retinopathy, foot ulcers and cardiovascular complications after 24 months. A long-term antioxidant therapy is beneficial in slowing down the progression of the complications2.

complications2.

References:

  1. Manning PJ, et a. Diabetes Care. 2004; 27 (9): 2166-2171.
  2. Jain AB, Jain VA. J Clin Diagn Res. 2012; 6(10): 1624-1628.

To comment on this article,
create a free account.

Sign Up to instantly get access to 10000+ Articles & 1000+ Cases

Already registered?

Login Now

Most Popular Articles

News and Updates

eMediNexus provides latest updates on medical news, medical case studies from India. In-depth medical case studies and research designed for doctors and healthcare professionals.