The effect of vitamin E supplementation on selected inflammatory biomarkers in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

What this study found

Vitamin E supplementation significantly reduces CRP by about 0.52 mg/L (P<0.001), with greater effects seen for alpha-tocopherol or mixed tocopherols, in unhealthy populations, for interventions lasting ≥8 weeks, and at dosages ≥500 mg/day. A non-linear dose-response suggests the largest CRP reductions occur around 300–600 mg/day; at ≥1000 mg/day, benefits are not evident. For IL-6, no significant overall effect, though reductions occur with alpha-tocopherol and in insulin-resistance-related disorders. For TNF-α, no overall effect, but reductions at ≥700 mg/day (notably with…

Study & population

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (mostly parallel design; one cross-over).

Intervention

Oral vitamin E supplementation; forms include alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, or mixed tocopherols; dosage ranged from 15 to 1080 mg/day; duration ranged from 1 to 104 weeks.

Key limitation

Substantial heterogeneity across studies; variability in vitamin E isoforms, doses, durations, and populations; some trials included co-supplementation; risk-of-bias concerns across domains; few trials adjusted for baseline cytokine levels; limited safety/adverse event data; generalizability to healthy populations is…

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