American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 62, 1322S-1326S, Copyright © 1995 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

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Interaction among vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene

E Niki, N Noguchi, H Tsuchihashi and N Gotoh
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Japan.

The effects of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), and beta-carotene as antioxidants and their cooperative action against the oxidation of lipid in solution, membranes, and lipoproteins have been studied and reviewed. Ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol act as potent, and probably the most important, hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidants, respectively. They function at their own site individually and furthermore act synergistically. beta-Carotene has lower reactivity toward radicals than does alpha-tocopherol and acts as a weak antioxidant in solution. It is more lipophilic than alpha- tocopherol and is assumed to be present at the interior of membranes or lipoproteins, which enables it to scavenge radicals within the lipophilic compartment more efficiently than does alpha-tocopherol. The cooperative interaction between vitamin C and vitamin E may be quite probable, that of vitamin C and beta-carotene is improbable, whereas that between vitamin E and beta-carotene may be possible.

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