Mini Review - (2021) Volume 0, Issue 0
1Faculty of Health Sciences, University Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville, Congo
2Teaching Hospital, Brazzaville, Brazzaville, Congo
3National Research Institute on Heath Sciences, Brazzaville Congo
Received Date: May 06, 2021; Accepted Date: May 30, 2021; Published Date: June 08, 2021
Citation: Arnaud MKF, Henriette P (2021) Congolese Vitamin E Dietary Sources: A Review. Int J Appl Sci Res Rev Vol. 8 No. 6:21.
Introduction: Vitamin E is a micronutrient considered to be an anticancer and antitoxic agent. Indeed, its antioxidant property allows to fight against reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the origin lipids, proteins and DNA damages involved in the genesis of several human diseases such as infections, cancers. However, its systematic intake in cancer prevention as a therapeutic adjuvant is sometimes controversial. Currently, according some reviews, the best therapeutic approach in cancers, with none harmful effects, would be the dietary intake of foods rich in vitamin E in a short-term. Thus, the objective of the present work is to make a review of foods rich in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), available and accessible on the Congolese public markets.
Literature review: Firstly, we surveyed published articles and books on vitamin E. Secondly; we listed all the foods rich in vitamin E that are more consumed in central Africa.
Results: Literature review shows that food rich in vitamin E are oils: especially unrefined palm oil, peanut oil; cereals like soybean, rice, wheat; green vegetables like spinach, squash, beans, moringa leaves, cassava leaves; fruits as avocado or mango.
Conclusion: There are various foods consumed in Congo, which are rich in vitamin E specifically unrefined oils, green vegetable, fish and eggs. The data from this work may orient clinicians to promote dietary intake rich in vitamin E instead of the synthetic vitamin E consumption.
Vitamin E; Alpha-tocopherol; Congolese foods
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble molecule produced exclusively by the vegetable. It is divisible in two members: tocopherols and tocotrienols, containing each four varriants: alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ) and delta (δ) [1-3]. Alpha-tocopherol is the variant most used by the organism because of its bioavailability and antioxidant activity The functions of vitamin E are various Table 1 [4-10] regulation of cell growth and differentiation, reproduction, immunity [4-7]. A deficiency of this micronutrient can lead to numerous pathologies like: Heart disease, Ataxia with vitamin E deficiency (AVED) [4-10] Table 1. Vitamin E is considered as an anticancer and antitoxic agent. Indeed, in increased oxidative stress conditions, the antioxidant property allows to decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) or nitrogen species (RNS) activities in the body [11]. ROS and RNS are toxic molecules which can alter the cell genome and other cellular and tissular components. The alterations can decrease immunity leading to various diseases including cancer and viral infections [12].
| Vitamin E | Functions | Target tissues | Pathologies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha- tocopherol | Antioxidant | Liver | Retinitis pigmentosa |
| Anti-inflammatory | Adipocytes | Ataxia with vitamin E deficiency | |
| Anticoagulant | Heart | Arthrosclerosis | |
| Immunoregulators | Salivary glands | Heart disease | |
| Inducer of apoptosis | Placenta | Cystic fibrosis | |
| Reproduction | Brain | Cancers | |
| Growth factor | Uterus | Pre-eclampsia | |
| DNA repair | Lungs | Stroke | |
| Alzheimer's disease | |||
| Diabetes |
Table 1: Vitamin E functions, targets tissues and indexed pathologies.
One of the therapeutic applications of the antioxidant property is: the supplementation of synthetic vitamin E in several neoplasms as lung, breast or prostate cancers. It is used in chemoprevention or in adjuvant therapy after chemotherapy, however, vitamin E supplementation is controversial by some authors [13]. Indeed, in some cancers, vitamin E supplement may have the opposite effects. It indexed to increase recurrence of cancer and the appearance of metastases [14].
The current trend is therefore to promote the consumption of foods rich in vitamin E. The objective of the present work, is to make a review of foods rich in vitamin E (especially alphatocopherol form), available and accessible on the African public markets particularly in Congo.
Databases
The review search was performed on the usual databases: PubMed and Google scholar. The keywords used were: vitamin E, food and vitamin E, rich food vitamin E, African foods rich in vitamin E. Among the scientific journals selected, we note: journals of agriculture and agriculture and food; nutrition journals. The selected published articles also allowed us to access to other relevant articles.
Published articles
Several articles were selected from Science Direct and Hinari. Abstracts from published international conferences and international conferences have been also retained. A total of 34 out of 120 scientific published articles were selected according to the following inclusion criteria:
i) Trial reports, published articles, thesis.
ii) Articles including two our keywords.
iii) Articles less than 26 years old.
The literature search [15-17] highlighted several African foods rich in vitamin E, reported in Table 2 [18-20]. With globalization, some European foods are also present in African markets and vice versa. In comparison, some foods rich in vitamin E and widely sold on the European and African markets [21-25] are transcribed in Table 3 [26-33].
| Forms | Food | Dose of vitamine E (mg/kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Oils | Unrefined palm oil | 200-1000 |
| Argan | 695-700 | |
| Coconut | 100-600 | |
| Wheat | 200-400 | |
| Peanut | 150-300 | |
| Cod liver oil | 300 | |
| Soybean | 22-201 | |
| Jatropha curcas oil from Benin | 199 | |
| Cereals | Soybean | 1500 |
| Wheat | 910 | |
| Rice | 465 | |
| Corn | 200 | |
| Plants | Moringa leaves | 130-190 |
| Spinach | 150 | |
| Cucurbita pepo (courges) | 27-75 | |
| Green bean | 30-40 | |
| Basilic | 107 | |
| Parsley | 40 | |
| Lettuce | 6 | |
| Fruits | Vitex doniana (black plum) | 32 |
| Avocado | 10-20 | |
| Tomato | 13.4 | |
| Banana | 11 | |
| Mango | 4.7 | |
| Fish and | Eggs | 20-39 |
| others | Eel | 10-20 |
| Canned sardines | 20 |
Table 2: Some foods rich in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) consumed in Congo.
| Forms | Food | Dose of vitamine E (mg/kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Oils | Sunflower | 200-765 |
| Grape seed | 100-525 | |
| Olive | 10- 300 | |
| Canola | 120-250 | |
| Colza | 20-25 | |
| Safflower | 11.8 | |
| Cereals | Oats | 210 |
| Almond | 150-200 | |
| Hazel nuts | 150-200 | |
| Raye | 92 | |
| Plants | Chick peas | 184-204 |
| Cresson | 2-152 | |
| Broccoli | 100-150 | |
| Fruits | Kiwi | 16 |
| Jack fruit | 10,4 | |
| Fish | Salmon | Feb-39 |
Table 3: Some foods rich in vitamin E consumed in Europe.
The data in the literature provided us a list of foods rich in tocopherol most often, without specifying the concentration of other vitamin E forms or variants. It should be noted that the concentrations reported are approximate because the results vary according to the technique of analysis, the eating habits and the origin of the food.
The oils
It emerges from the synthesis of the consulted articles that the vitamin E is the main fat-soluble micronutrient in vegetable oils consumed in Africa, which are very rich in alpha-tocopherol [1]. At the head, we note unrefined palm oil at concentrations of 200 to 1000 mg/kg. In general, the refining of palm oil decreases the vitamin E concentration. The same applies to refined sunflower oil, whose alpha-tocopherol content is lower than the crude oil [17]. We can note that: palm oil may increase cholesterol (Total, LDL and HDL) compared to olive oil and sunflower oil. In addition, it can decrease platelet aggregation [20,21]. However, refined palm oil, richer in saturated fatty acids, increases platelet aggregation and can be toxic for kidneys, lungs, liver and heart [22]. Thus, to benefit from a correct contribution in vitamin E, it is recommended to use unrefined palm oil or not to heat it too much when cooking food.
Others oils rich in vitamin E are, Argan oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, Jatropha curcas oil [23,24]. Peanut oil frequently used in African cooking, contains 150 to 300 mg of tocopherol and it is therefore richer in vitamin E than olive oil (10 to 300 mg of vitamin E). Jatropha curcas oil from Benin is traditional oil which availability on the local market remains low.
Cereals, vegetables and fruits
Vitamin E is also present in high concentrations in some cereals such as: soybean, rice and corn. We can also found the nutrient in green vegetables like: Spinach, Moringa leaves, beans, Cassava leaves (Saka-Saka), Cucurbita pepo also called in Congo courges or pistachio [18]. Many African fruits are also rich in vitamin E for example: black plum, avocado, lychee, and banana. The consumption of cereals, vegetables and fruits does not pose too much of a problem, because they are usually included in the dietary habits of Africans.
Fish and other foods
Given the geographical situation of the Congo (presence of sea and the longest river in the world), the public Congolese markets are full of many fatty fishes such as: catfish, Thomson fish, mackerel fish or Eel with no negligable dose of vitamin E. Eggs widely consumed at low cost, are also rich in vitamin E.
Foods consumed in Congo (and in others African countries), especially vegetable oils and green plants are particularly rich in vitamin E. The data from this work promote dietary intake rich in vitamin E, instead of the synthetic vitamin E supplement. All the aliments cited in this paper are available on African public markets.
