Nutritional approaches to radioprotection: vitamin E.

Low-level radiation injury is dependent on the radiation dose and dose rate. The major military use of any potential radioprotectant is to prevent the short-term effects of lethality and the long-term effects of cancer and other pathologies from radiation exposure that may occur in a nuclear battlefield or in a nuclear material contaminated field of operation. Therefore, a radioprotectant should not affect the ability of military personnel to perform tasks. Because exposure to ionizing radiation induces free radical species, effective antioxidants, either alone or in combination with other agents, can be used as potential radioprotectors. To test this hypothesis, we studied vitamin E for its radioprotective efficacy. Using CD2F1 male mice as the model system, we observed that vitamin E at a dose of 400 IU/kg acts as a good radioprotectant against lethal doses of cobalt-60 radiation. Vitamin E was more efficacious when given subcutaneously than when given orally.