[The role of vitamin E in the body]

The basic experimental data obtained at the Department of Coenzymes' Biochemistry of the A. V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the Ukr. SSR Academy of Sciences as to the biological role of vitamin E are analyzed. Vitamin E, selenium and methionine are found to induce peculiar changes in the activity of glutathione-peroxidase, metabolism of sulphur-containing amino acids, biosynthesis of adenine nucleotides, proteins and nucleic acids. Participation of alpha-tocopherol and its active derivatives in the control of biosynthesis and intertransformation of ubiquinone and its cyclic isomer, ubichromenol, in the animal organism, is proved, which determines to a considerable extent the biological role of vitamin E in the bioenergy processes. It is substantiated in experiments that the detected wide range of the biological effect of vitamin E is associated with the control of RNA biosynthesis. Under these conditions the effect of vitamin E on the RNA synthesis does not depend on the manifestation of antioxidant properties of its molecule and in this sense it is a specific one. The results obtained are discussed for their significance in explanation of the molecular mechanism of the vitamin E action and in substantiation of the possibility to use the results in practical medicine and animal husbandry.