Perceiving the functions of vitamin E through neutron and X-ray scattering

Abstract

Take your vitamins, or don't? Vitamin E is one of the few lipophilic vitamins in the human diet and is considered an essential nutrient. Over the years it has proven to be a powerful antioxidant and is commercially used as such, but this association is far from linear in physiology. It is increasingly more likely that vitamin E has multiple legitimate biological roles. Here, we review past and current work using neutron and X-ray scattering to elucidate the influence of vitamin E on key features of model membranes that can translate to the biological function(s) of vitamin E. Although progress is being made, the hundred year-old mystery remains unsolved.

Keywords: Diffraction; Lipid bilayer; Lipid rafts; Small-angle X-ray scattering; Small-angle neutron scattering; Vitamin E; α-Tocopherol; α-Tocopheryl acetate; γ-Tocopherol.