Lichtgedanken 05

S C HW E R P U N K T 33 05 | LICHT GEDANKEN to offer. »If we start by characterizing a patient’s metabolism, successful treat- ments can be achieved with far greater precision, and not just for vitamin E.« In this study, the researchers investiga- ted the anti-inflammatory potential of α - carboxychromanol in detail. The bioac- tive metabolite inhibits a key enzyme involved in the inflammation processes (5-lipoxygenase, or 5-LO). Koeberle be- lieves that these findings are extremely promising, because 5-LO plays a central role in inflammatory diseases such as asthma and arthritis. Patent registered for a drug derived from α-carboxychromanol »Until now, there has only been one approved drug that inhibits 5-LO, but its use is extremely limited due to its se- vere side effects.« The researchers want to use their findings to develop a new potential drug for the treatment of in- flammatory diseases. One candidate de- rived from α -carboxychromanol has al- ready been patented, explains Andreas Koeberle.  Contact PD Dr Andreas Koeberle Prof. Dr Oliver Werz Institute of Pharmacy Philosophenweg 14, D-07743 Jena, Germany Phone: +49 36 41 9-49815 Email: andreas.koeberle@uni-jena.de, oliver.werz@uni-jena.de www.pharmazie.uni-jena.de Original publication: Endogenous metabolites of vitamin E limit inflammation by targeting 5-lipoxygenase. Nature Communications (2018), DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06158-5 the Jena research team has proven in a broad interdisciplinary study together with partners from France, Austria, Ita- ly and Germany, the effect of vitamin E, which is taken as a tablet or capsu- le, is not related to the vitamin itself, but rather to a metabolic product. This substance, which goes by the name of α - carboxychromanol, has, amongst other things, a very promising anti-inflamma- tory effect. Personalized medicine could make therapy more successful α -carboxychromanol is formed in the liver. »The extent to which this hap- pens varies greatly between patients, however«, explains Prof. Dr Oliver Werz, who led the study together with Dr Koeberle. As the Jena scientists have shown, the level of the metabolite in the blood of participants ranges widely bet- ween individuals. »If the effect of vita- min E depends on the extent to which the bioactive metabolite is formed, then we have a very good explanation as to why the same amount of vitamin E can have a specific effect for one person and a far more marginal effect in the case of others«, clarifies Werz. The pharmacist believes that this proves the great be- nefits that personalized medicine has Doctoral candidate and lead author of the publication, Helmut Pein, uses a tandem mass spectrometer to analyse the metabolites of vitamin E. Head of the study, Dr Andreas Koeberle. .