Abstract
The nutritional status of vitamin E in elderly Japanese subjects was examined as compared with that in the young adults by determination of α-tocopherol levels in plasma, red blood cells (RBC), platelets (PLT), mononuclear cells (MN), and buccal mucosal cells (BMC). Vitamin A status was examined only by plasma retinol levels. RBC-, and BMC-α-Toc levels in female elderly were lower than those in female young, while MN- α-Toc, and plasma- α-Toc/total lipids in male elderly were lower than those in male young. Vitamin A level in male young was higher than that in male elderly and female young. The daily vitamin E intake of the elderly subjects in these institutions was below the recommended dietary allowance for the Japanese population. The vitamin A status and the daily vitamin A intake were sufficient in the elderly subjects. After administration of a multivitamin preparation for 4 weeks, plasma-, and cellular-α-tocopherol levels were increased in both elderly and young subjects. No increase in plasma retinol and abnormal peak of retinylester was observed after administration.
