Brain & Cognitive Health
Human evidence: EmergingAlpha-tocotrienol protects nerve cells at very low concentrations in lab models, and a two-year human trial looked at changes in brain white matter.
Evidence hierarchy
1
Mechanistic / in vitro studiesHow it may work
Nanomolar alpha-tocotrienol blocked glutamate-triggered death of nerve cells in culture, through a signalling route tocopherol did not affect.
Sen CK et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry (2000) →2
In vivo / animal studiesPreclinical evidence
In rodent stroke models, oral alpha-tocotrienol was linked to smaller areas of brain damage.
Khanna S et al., Stroke (2005) →3
Clinical studiesHuman evidence
A 2-year placebo-controlled trial in adults with existing white-matter lesions reported less lesion growth with mixed tocotrienols.
Gopalan Y et al., Stroke (2014) →Evidence levels: In vitro explains how something may work; In vivo / animal tests it in a living body; Clinical (human) shows what happens in people. This page is educational and not medical advice.