DOES PALM OIL VITAMIN E REDUCE THE RISK OF PREGNANCY INDUCED HYPERTENSION?

Mahdy, Zaleha Abdullah; Siraj, Harlina Halizah; Khaza'ai, Huzwah; Mutalib, Mohd Sokhini Abdul; Azwar, Muhammad Hatta; Wahab, Marianah Abdul; Dali, Ahmad Zailani Hatta Md; Jaafar, Rohana; Ismail, Nor Azlin Mohd; Jamil, Muhammad Abdul; Adeeb, Nafisah

doi:10.14712/18059694.2014.17

Acta Medica > Archive > 2013, Vol. 56 > Issue 3 > DOES PALM OIL VITAMIN E REDUCE THE RISK…

Acta Med. 2013, 56: 104-109

https://doi.org/10.14712/18059694.2014.17

DOES PALM OIL VITAMIN E REDUCE THE RISK OF PREGNANCY INDUCED HYPERTENSION?

Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy^a, Harlina Halizah Siraj^a, Huzwah Khaza'ai^b, Mohd Sokhini Abdul Mutalib^c, Muhammad Hatta Azwar^a, Marianah Abdul Wahab^a, Ahmad Zailani Hatta Md Dali^a, Rohana Jaafar^d, Nor Azlin Mohd Ismail^a, Muhammad Abdul Jamil^a, Nafisah Adeeb^a

^aFaculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
^bUniversiti Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Serdang, 43400 Selangor, Malaysia: Department of Biomedical Sciences
^cUniversiti Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Serdang, 43400 Selangor, Malaysia: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
^dFaculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Department of Paediatrics

In view of the high anti-oxidative potential of tocotrienol, the role of the tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) of palm oil in preventing pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) was explored in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial in an urban teaching hospital. Healthy primigravidae were randomized to receive either oral TRF 100mg daily or placebo, from early second trimester until delivery. Out of 299 women, 151 were randomized into the TRF arm and 148 into the placebo arm. A total of 15 (5.0%) developed PIH. Although there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of PIH (4/151 or 2.6% in the TRF arm vs 11/148 or 7.4% in the placebo arm, p = 0.058) between the two arms, there was a tendency towards a lower incidence of PIH in the TRF arm compared to the placebo arm. With TRF supplementation, the relative risk (RR) of PIH was 0.36 (95% CI 0.12–1.09). In conclusion, although TRF from palm oil does not statistically significantly reduce the risk of development of PIH in the population studied, the 64% reduction in incidence of PIH is substantial. The findings warrant further clinical trials, particularly in high risk populations.