American River Nutrition’s vitamin E derivative may help patients suffering from NAFLD, experts flag

08 Feb 2023 --- A study conducted by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Pakistan is highlighting the ability of delta-tocotrienol, one of the eight molecules that constitute vitamin E, to reduce inflammation in patients suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) via its effects on microRNAs (miRNAs) – small non-coding nucleotides that have been shown to influence metabolic dysfunctions and are easily measured biomarkers.

The results bolster previous findings and highlight the ingredients overall benefits for liver health.

“Delta-tocotrienol exerts a more pronounced effect than alpha-tocopherol in reducing miR-375 and miR-34a, which are linked to the regulation of inflammation and apoptosis (a type of cell death),” explain the study’s authors.

The delta-tocotrienol supplements used in the study were provided by American Nutrition in the form of the company’s DeltaGold supplement. 

Dr. Barrie Tan, the company’s president, explains that the results reveal that, “with surgical significance, DeltaGold suppresses miRNA-375 and miRNA-34a uniquely to curb inflammation and apoptosis critical to protect this productive and largest human organ.”

Taking the fat out of fatty livers
The main characteristic of NAFLD is the storing of excess fat in the liver, a phenomenon known as hepatic steatosis. The disease is associated with obesity, overweight and metabolic syndromes like diabetes. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, NAFLD affects approximately 80-100 million US adults, and can escalate to the more serious non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, if left untreated.

NAFLD is often related to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles.Currently, there are no pharmacological treatments for NAFLD. Rather, the standards for care arediet and changes in lifestyle and exercise.

American River Nutrition holds that safe and effective natural alternative treatments for NAFLD are highly sought after.

Testing for efficacy
The vitamin E molecule was recently shown to act as a protectant against bone loss in postmenopausal women and has also been shown to reduce the chances of developing diabetes in prediabetics and act as neuronal protectant in the brain.

This most recent 48-week long study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, included 100 NAFLD patients who split into two groups and given either 300 mg of DeltaGold tocotrienol twice a day (600 mg total) or 268 mg of alpha-tocopherol twice a day (536 mg total).

Additionally, the study investigated six miRNAs related to NAFLD, noting that, until now, most miRNA studies had been focused on liver cancers. 

The results found that the GoldDelta delta-tocotrienol corresponded with a threefold drop in the two miRNAs investigated, which were the closest linked to NAFLD symptoms.

“Since the discovery of miRNAs 30 years ago (in 1993) by Victor Ambros and Gary Ravkun in C. elegans, there are now more than 2000 known human miRNAs,” Tan explains.

He says that, for the first time ever, this research sought miRNAs that upregulate fatty liver conditions and were intervened by DeltaGold annatto tocotrienol supplementation. 

“Finding what miRNAs intervene in human diseases is like finding ‘a needle in a haystack,’” Tan concludes.

Edited by William Bradford Nichols