In a recent animal study, both and emulsified and non-emulsified version of a palm tocotrienol marketed as EVNol by ExcelVite had protective effects on bone and joint health in ovariectomized rats with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
 
These findings, which were publsihed in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, represent potential in future studies on palm tocotrienols involving postmenopausal women who are at risk for osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
 
In the animal study, researchers compared six groups of adult female Sprague-Dawley rats.
 
There was a baseline group which didn’t undergo any interventions, a groups which was subject to a laparotomy but not ovariectomized, an ovariectomized group that got no treatment, as well as three ovariectomized groups which received a treatment of emulsified or non-emulsified palm tocotrienol, versus a combination of glucosamine suplhate and calcium carbonate.
 
The treatment period for all groups lasted 10 weeks.
 
In the group which received non-emulsified palm tocotrienol, there was a mitigating effect on bone loss in the context of estrogen deficiency, due to a time-dependent increase in bone mineral density, preserving trabecular bone volume over total volume, and increasing trabecular thickness.
 
The emulsified palm tocotrienol group, unlike all others, saw a significant increase in osteoblast surface over bone surface compared to the baseline and positive control groups, suggesting a potential anabolic effect of tocotrienol.  Further, emulsified tocotrienol increased stiffness and Young’s Modulus, two measures of bone’s ability to resist deformation under force.
 
As for results related to joint health, all three treatment groups consistently had lower joint width values compared to the negative control group, indicating a prevention of joint swelling and a slowdown of osteoarthritis progression.
 
Both the emulsified palm tocotrienols and the glucosamine/calcium groups regained grips strength three weeks after the induction of osteoarthritis, suggesting an improvement in joint function. On the other hand, all three treatment groups saw a reduction in circulating cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, a biomarker of cartilage breakdown. Both types of palm tocotrienols also preserved cartilage histology, as measured by Mankin’s subscores. This may be attributed to the effect of palm tocotrienol on oxidative stress, and stimulating self-repair mechanisms and anabolic actions.
 
“The current study shows that emulsified palm tocotrienol exerted similar beneficial effect on bone and joint health as non-emulsified palm tocotrienol despite having a lower tocotrienols concentration,” ExcelVite reported. “This finding validates the bio-enhanced and optimum absorption properties of EVNol SupraBio.”