Abstract
Lipid peroxidation is involved in toxic deterioration in aerobic life. Active oxygens, such as singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radicals, superoxide anion radicals and perhydroxyl radicals, take part in induction of lipid peroxidation. Vitamin E (tocopherols), mostly localized in biomembranes, is well known as one of the most effective natural compounds for protection against lipid peroxidation, but the antioxidant mechanism of vitamin E in membranes is obscure. This paper reviews the inhibition mechanism of vitamin E in lipid peroxidation and the scavenging effect on the active oxygens in model membranes such as liposomes and fatty acid micelles.
