Assessment of vitamin E nutritional status in neonates, infants and children--on the basis of alpha-tocopherol levels in blood components and buccal mucosal cells.

We examined the age-related changes of alpha-tocopherol levels in various clinically available biosamples in order to assess the vitamin E nutritional status. During the first week of life, more than half of every sample except red blood cells showed alpha-tocopherol levels below the lower limit of normal in a control group of children aged 3-16 years. alpha-Tocopherol levels in mononuclear leucocytes and buccal mucosal cells, which possess LDL receptors, increased in response to the plasma alpha-tocopherol elevation within a week after birth. However, RBC and platelet levels did not respond so quickly. Considering the transfer of tocopherol into body tissues during LDL catabolism, the determination of tocopherol levels in cells with LDL receptors may be useful for assessing the vitamin E status and our present study suggests that the tissue vitamin E status may be marginal in neonates.