Sport - What does tocotrienol-vitamin E have to do with it? More endurance.
A lot, because sport is associated with relatively high physical performance and high energy consumption.
The energy is generated in the cells by the mitochondria in the cells. This process is only about 98% efficient, which means about 2% of the oxygen used ends up in aggressive oxygen (ROS), also known as “free radicals”.
In short: a lot of exercise also creates a lot of free radicals. And these damage the cell structures and produce inflammation, which causes the cells to switch to the much less efficient lactic acid fermentation (in scientific terms: only 2 ATP in glycolysis, but 38 ATP in aerobic combustion).
Of course, nature has a counterproduct to capture the 2% radical oxygen atoms, the antioxidants. The antioxidant on the cell membranes - including the mitochondria - is exclusively vitamin E. However, the amount of conventional vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) cannot be increased much in order to increase requirements, for example through exercise. Alpha-tocopherol can accumulate as a radical. But not tocotrienol-vitamin E, as it is much more mobile (50-fold) and is a transporter and reaches the radical oxygen much more quickly.
This shortens the recovery time after sport and extends the performance time.
studies?Apparently tocotrienols have a very good effect on endurance performance:
For example, this one:tocotrienols and Whey Protein Isolates Substantially Increase Exercise Endurance Capacity in Diet-Induced Obese Male Sprague-Dawley Rats.2016 Apr 8;11(4):e0152562. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152562. eCollection 2016.
Result:With tocotrienol, experimental animals achieved 50% more endurance performance than the control group.
(See the pic in the original publication here:Open image)
Experimental setup: The experimental animals (well-fed rats) were immediately trained on the “hamster wheel”. And then divided into groups with and without tocotrienols (50 mg/kg). After 10 weeks, the groups with tocotrienol achieved over 50% better running performance. The time until exhaustion was measured, below (75%) the maximum speed. The suspect researchers that the increase in endurance was achieved through the observed better function of the mitochondria (higher membrane potential).
One previous study (PMID 19705143) with slender animals gave way 4 weeks even twice the endurance in the Schwinm test with 25 mg/kg TRF and 145% increase in the Schwinm power in 50mg/kg (TRF is a fraction with approx. 75% tocotrienol). There is evidence that the burning of fatty acids has been increased compared to sugar.
Does it also work for cyclists? Other racehorses? An increase of just 10% would certainly be incredible progress. I think we are a long way from the vitamin being classified as a doping substance. Rather, the improvement in physical performance through an improved supply of nutritional elements would have to be attributed to better general health status.