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Evidence-Based Supplement Research
Evidence-Based Supplement Research

Vitamin E and Reduced Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha

Research synthesisLow evidenceSmall effect3 studies · 1 beneficial · 2 neutral · 0 harmful

Across 3 randomized controlled trials, Vitamin E supplementation showed mixed effects on tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels. One small-to-moderate quality study (2025) in NASH patients reported a small beneficial reduction of 9.64% (p<0.05) with 400 IU twice daily over 182 days, while two other RCTs in hemodialysis and sarcopenic older women found no significant effect at doses of 600 IU and 335 mg/d, respectively. Overall, the evidence is limited and mixed, with effects typically observed at 56–182 days.

  • Effective dose range: 335–800 IU/day
  • Studied populations: patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), hemodialysis patients, older women with sarcopenia

Caveats: Evidence base is small (only 3 studies) — conclusions should be considered preliminary. Many of the included studies did not reach statistical significance — effect may be smaller than the predominant direction suggests. The only beneficial finding came from a 2025 NASH trial; the two neutral studies used different populations (hemodialysis, sarcopenic older women) and co-interventions (whey protein, resistance training), which may confound results.

Generated Jun 11, 2026
Doses used in studies
  • IU/day: 600–800 (median 700, IQR 650750) 2 studies
  • mg/day: 335 (median 335, IQR 335335) 1 study
Time to effect
Median: 2.8 months · IQR 10 weeks4.4 months · Range 8 weeks6.1 months — Reported in 3 of 3 studies
Safety in these studies
3 of 3 papers
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