American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 26, 136-143, Copyright © 1973 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Effect of long-term ingestion of polyunsaturated fat, age, plasma cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, and supplemental tocopherol upon plasma tocopherol

¹ Associate Professor, Home Economics Department, California State University, Los Angeles
² Laboratory Technician, University of North Carolina
³ Nutritionist, University Affiliated Project, Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles
⁴ Associate Professor, School of Home Economics, University of Nevada, Reno; formerly Chief Nutritionist, Division of Child Development, Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and Assistant Clinical Professor of Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
⁵ Professor Emeritus, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles

No plasma tocopherol values less than 0.3 mg/100 ml were found for the 217 subjects studied. No adults or normal children had plasma tocopherol levels below 0.6 mg/100 ml.

No significant difference was found between the means of plasma tocopherol levels of children on high polyunsaturated fat diets since birth and of children on normal diets.

Plasma tocopherol levels were significantly correlated to age and significantly correlated to cholesterol levels.

Mean plasma tocopherol levels of non-obese diabetics were not significantly different from those of normal nonobese subjects of the same age and sex.

Plasma tocopherol values for the same individual varied little from day to day or month to month.

Supplements of d--tocopheryl acetate did not significantly change plasma cholesterol levels.

Supplements of 200 and 600 IU of d--tocopheryl acetate increased plasma tocopherol levels only from 50 to 60%, and plasma levels returned to presupplementation levels within 4 days.