ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on vitamin E in protecting cellular constituents from free radical-initiated lipid peroxidation tissue damage that may have an impact on the aging process. The free radical reactions may eventually decrease the ability of an organ to respond adaptively to environmental changes, accelerate the aging process, and thereby shorten the life span of an organism. Among the important antioxidant defense systems known, however, vitamin E appears to be the most important and dominant. The main criteria used in the biological evaluation of the tocopherols have been the resorption-gestation assay, the muscular dystrophy score, the erythrocyte hemolysis test, and determination of tocopherol levels in plasma and tissues. The life span of erythrocytes in full-term infants is approximately two thirds that of the erythrocytes of normal adults. More than 50 years have passed since vitamin E was originally described as a fat-soluble dietary substance necessary for reproduction in rats.
