Washington: Take a specific form of a vitamin E supplement can give an additional quitters in their efforts toward a healthy lifestyle, new research has found.
In the small study, improving the function of blood vessels associated with the addition of vitamin E potentially resulting in an estimated 19 percent greater drop in the future risk of cardiovascular disease.
Smokers were recruited to participate in a smoking cessation study for seven days, with blood markers of inflammation and blood vessel function before and after the trial. After seven days of not smoking, participants saw an increase in vascular function by an average of 2.8 percent. Those who quit smoking and also took the gamma-tocopherol form of vitamin E showed a 1.5 percent improvement in vascular function further.
While these changes in vascular function may appear to be small, prior large scale studies suggest that each 1 percent increase in vascular function - s or improved ability to dilate blood vessel `- translates into a drop of 13 percent in the risk of developing heart disease in the future.
"This is a very short-term study that shows promising effects," said Richard Bruno, associate professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University and lead author of the study.
"The fundamental reason is that we know that it takes many years before the risk of cardiovascular disease of a ex-smoker matches that of a nonsmoker. Expect to develop a therapy for smoking cessation combined with that could accelerate the restoration of vascular function and reduce cardiovascular risk. "
The supplement in the study is not the same as the average vitamin E available on most store shelves. Vitamin E occurs in eight different ways depending on their chemical structure, and the most common form belongs to a variety called tocopherols.
In this study, researchers tested the effects of the form of gamma-tocopherol. The most common form of vitamin E, and one to which humans have a dietary requirement, is alpha-tocopherol.
While taking gamma-tocopherol is safe, Bruno noted that long-term studies with more participants would have to specify the specific dietary recommendations related to quitting.
A total of 30 smokers in their 20s who had smoked at least half a pack a day for a year participated in the study. All participants quit smoking, and 16 received 500 mg of gamma-tocopherol, while 14 received a placebo.
In addition to taking blood samples, the researchers measured vascular function by ultrasound imaging of an artery in the arm as the ship responded to an increased flow of blood after circulation in the arm was stopped for five minutes.
The quality of vascular function is defined by the ability of `s of the artery to dilate in response to the surge of blood - more dilation suggests the ship has adequate responses to changes in blood flow.
"The Mayor dilatory response is an indicator of vascular health. Individuals with a history of smoking tend to have low vasodilator responses," said Bruno.
Participants who took supplements showed greater improvements in vascular function and also had lower levels of two inflammation-related proteins in the blood that participants who received a placebo did.
Bruno said lower levels of these two proteins in the blood of the participants' supplemented suggest that the gamma-tocopherol vitamin E restore vascular function at least in part by reducing inflammation.
The study was recently presented at the Experimental Biology annual meeting in Boston.
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