Vitamin E and reproductive health

Abstract

Vitamin E was discovered in 1922 following an experimental finding of a particular «antisterility substance X» that was reported necessary for reproduction. Following that, vitamin E has been extensively studied and has become a well-known lipid-soluble antioxidant. Vitamin E comprises tocopherol (TOC) and tocotrienol (TCT), and is present in eight different subtypes, namely alpha (α)-TOC, beta (β)-TOC, gamma (γ)-TOC, delta (δ)-TOC, alpha (α)-TCT, beta (β)-TCT, gamma (γ)-TCT, and delta (δ)-TCT. Most of the early reports referred to alpha-TOC as vitamin E until the presence of TCT was discovered in the 1990s. To date the benefits of vitamin E (of both TOC and TCT) on human health have been extensively reported. However, its benefits on reproductive health in both males and females remain considerably lacking in data. Therefore this chapter intends to summarize all of the reported benefits of vitamin E on reproductive health and provide a reference for future studies.