Tocotrienol (Vitamin E) may reverse male pattern baldness

[vauxall]

http://www.carotech.net/index/news/219.html

Vitamin E may reverse male pattern baldness: Study
author : Nutraingredients.com Date :29 April 2009



By Stephen Daniells


Daily supplements of a patented tocotrienol (vitamin E) complex may increase hair growth in people with male pattern baldness by 42 per cent, suggests a new study from Carotech.






The eight month randomized, placebo-controlled trial involved 28 volunteers with androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness), and was performed at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Science Malaysia.


“This is the first ever study to report such benefits for tocotrienols,â€￾ Dr Sharon Ling, regional sales manager for Carotech, told NutraIngredients.com. Dr Ling will present the findings at next week’s Vitafoods International Conference in Geneva.


The study findings have yet to be submitted for publication in a peer-review journal due to some of the finer points of patent law, said Dr Ling. NutraIngredients.com has not seen the full data.


Male pattern baldness







According to the American Medical Association, about 95 per cent of all cases of hair loss are due to male pattern baldness, a condition that affects about 40 million American men.


The balding is reported to start by the age of 30 in 25 per cent of men, and in two-thirds by the age of 60. According to the AMA, there is a 4 in 7 chance of inheriting the baldness gene.


New data







According to data provided by Dr Ling, the Malaysian researchers conducted a double blind placebo-controlled clinical trial on volunteers with androgenetic alopecia using Carotech’s Tocomin SupraBio, a patented tocotrienol complex reported to increase oral absorption of tocotrienols by 300 per cent.


The eight-month study included 28 volunteers aged between 18 and 59 with a hair loss problem for approximately two to five years. During the course of the study, instructions were given to not alter their hairstyle, hair care products (shampoo, conditioners, etc) or dye their hair.


Volunteers were randomly assigned to the palm tocotrienol complex (total tocotrienol intake of 100 mg) or the placebo (soft gelatin capsule containing 600 mg soy bean oil).





Hair counts, measured by the counting the number of hairs in a pre-selected 2x2 cm area, were found to significantly increase by an average of 41.8 per cent in the tocotrienol group, with eight volunteers experiencing greater than 50 per cent hair growth. In the placebo group, however, no statistically significant differences in the number of hairs were detected before or after the study period, and only one volunteer showed more than 20 per cent increase in hair count.


The vitamin E family







There are eight forms of vitamin E: four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta). Alpha-tocopherol is the main source found in supplements and in the European diet, while gamma-tocopherol is the most common form in the American diet.


Tocotrienols (TCT) are only minor components in plants, although several sources with relatively high levels include palm oil, cereal grains and rice bran.


While the majority of research on vitamin E has focused on alpha-Toc, studies into tocotrienols account for less than one per cent of all research into vitamin E.

 

[Guest]

Very interesting. So how do we get patented tocotrienol into our bodies? Are there foods containing it? Or is it available in supplement form?

 

[chore boy]

Ya'll missed the bus on this. Mad people tried Toco-8 when it came out, including myself and I can't think of a single person who reported "reversal of male pattern baldness"... hahah.

Their reported results were slightly outrageous.

 

[billythekid]

the 'study' was done by the same people that sell the stuff

 

[JLL]

I wrote about the patent study on tocotrienols and hair growth on my blog some time ago. I'm not sure whether this study is the same one, or whether they did a similar study to be published in a journal.

Very interesting. So how do we get patented tocotrienol into our bodies? Are there foods containing it? Or is it available in supplement form?

Getting enough tocotrienols to reach the levels in the study means taking a supplement. Toco-8 and Toco-Sorb are the ones I'm aware of, but I guess Carotech came up with a new one. It's pretty much impossible to get tocotrienols from natural foods, except in very small quantities. You might be able to save money by taking a smaller dose and combining it with sesame seeds which improve the absorption of tocotrienols by up to 500%. In any case, I took the stuff for two months and didn't notice anything. Tocotrienols do have other health effects, however, so it's not a complete waste of money. I just find it too expensive at the moment.

 

[billythekid]

this is complete bs. it is a waste of money. this is a hairloss forum.

i'm fairly confident carotech are the main suppliers of toctrienols even in the products mentioned. its all a big scam.

 

[vauxall]

Are there foods containing it? Or is it available in supplement form?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocotrieno ... cotrienols

tocotrienols, on the other hand, are concentrated in cereal grains (ie. oat, barley, and rye, rice bran), with the highest level found in crude palm oil.

Or is it available in supplement form?

Not that I know. I have found only traces 15 mg) of Tocotrienol in a supplement from Solgar, but I am not sure if it's worth the price although I am thinking about it:
http://www.solgar.co.uk/modules/catbuil ... psE118.htm

Two (2) vegetable capsule provide: Vitamin C (as calcium ascorbate, theronate [Ester C]) 200mg N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC)100mg Mixed Carotanoid Complex (as carrot, tomato, and marigold oleoresins, carrot oil, palm fruit concentrate prep.) Providing: Lutein1000ug Lycopene1000ug Alpha carotene500ug Zeaxanthin50ug Vitamin E (100 iu as d-alpha tocopheryl succinate) 67mg Mixed Tocopherols (as prep.)24mg Tocotrienol Complex 7.5mg Zinc (as amino acid chelate)10mg Alpha Lipoic Acid30mg Natural Source Beta Carotene (as mixed carotenoid prep.)3mg Standardised Mixed Fruit Powdered Extracts25mg (10mg [40%] polyphenols, apple, apricot/nectarine, cherry, prune and pomegranate) Grape Seed Extract (10.5mg [70]% polyphenols)15mg Pine Bark Powdered Extract (7.5mg [50%] proanthocyanidins) 15mg Standardised Bilberry Powdered Extract (4mg [25%] anthocyanosidins) 15mg Standardised Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Powdered Extract 15mg (4mg [24%] ginkgoflavoglycosides, 1mg [6%] terpene lactones) Standardised Green Tea Leaf Powdered Extract(7.5mg [50%] polyphenols)15mg Standardised Turmeric Root Powdered Extract (14mg [95%] curcuminoids)15mg Copper (as amino acid chelate+)1000ug Selenium (as selenomethionine)25ug Antioxidant (powdered blend** of beta-carotene prep. and ascorbic acid)

 

[Guest]

Well that's a shame that not many food has it, and those that do have small amounts. I think I will pass on this, thanks for the links though!

 

[couldntthinkofaname]

why didnt their measured the dht lvl?

i think vitamin e increases dht a lot