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Natural Products in Cancer Prevention and Therapy pp 21–33Cite as

Cancer Prevention by Different Forms of Tocopherols

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Part of the book series: Topics in Current Chemistry ((TOPCURRCHEM,volume 329))

Abstract

Many epidemiological studies have suggested that a low vitamin E nutritional status is associated with increased cancer risk. However, several recent large-scale human trials with high doses of α-tocopherol (α-T) have produced disappointing results. This points out the need for a better understanding of the biological activities of the different forms of tocopherols. Using a naturally occurring tocopherol mixture (γ-TmT) that is rich in γ-T, we demonstrated the inhibition of chemically induced lung, colon, and mammary cancer formation as well as the growth of xenograft tumors derived from human lung and prostate cancer cells. This broad anticancer activity of γ-TmT has been attributed mainly to the trapping of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and inhibition of arachidonic acid metabolism. Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and the inhibition of estrogen signaling have also been observed in the inhibition of mammary cancer development. δ-T has been shown to be more active than γ-T in inhibiting the growth of human lung cancer cells in a xenograft tumor model and the development of aberrant crypt foci in azoxymethane-treated rats, whereas α-T is not effective in these models. The higher inhibitory activities of δ-T and γ-T (than α-T) are proposed to be due to their trapping of reactive nitrogen species and their capacity to generate side-chain degradation products, which retain the intact chromanol ring structure and could have cancer preventive activities.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by US NIH grants CA122474, CA133021, CA141756, and John L. Colaizzi Chair endowment Fund. We acknowledge the contribution of Drs. Guangxun Li, Zhihong Yang, and Gang Lu for their contribution to research on this topic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Biology, Center for Cancer Prevention Research, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA

    Chung S. Yang & Nanjoo Suh

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  1. Chung S. Yang
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  2. Nanjoo Suh
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Correspondence to Chung S. Yang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Pharmacy, University of Hawaii, Rainbow Drive 34, Hilo, 96720, Hawaii, USA

    John M. Pezzuto

  2. Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Department of Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Frelinghuysen Road 164, Piscataway, 08854-0789, New Jersey, USA

    Nanjoo Suh

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Yang, C.S., Suh, N. (2012). Cancer Prevention by Different Forms of Tocopherols. In: Pezzuto, J., Suh, N. (eds) Natural Products in Cancer Prevention and Therapy. Topics in Current Chemistry, vol 329. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/128_2012_345

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