VITAMIN E
Vitamin E (a-tocopherol) is the main lipid-soluble antioxidant
present in plasma, erythrocytes and tissues (NRC, 2006).
It is transported in plasma proteins and partitions into membranes
and fat storage sites where it is one of the most effective
antioxidants for protecting polyunsaturated fatty acids
(PUFAs) from oxidation. It functions as a chain-breaking
antioxidant that prevents propagation of free radical damage in
biologic membranes. Vitamin E inhibits lipid peroxidation by
scavenging lipid peroxyl radicals much faster than these radicals
can react with adjacent fatty acids or with membrane proteins
(Gutteridge and Halliwell, 1994).