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Health-E Muscles
31 May 2015

Health-E Muscles

Vitamin E has long been hailed for its antioxidant properties, but less well-known is its role in keeping muscles healthy. During exercise, muscle cell membranes tear, which is why you might feel sore after going to the gym, and vitamin E plays a key role in healing them. Without it, the plasma membrane, responsible for holding a cell together, cannot heal. The vitamin is actually a group of eight naturally occurring chemicals called tocopherols and tocotrienols. Here, is a polarised light micrograph of vitamin E (tocopherol) crystals, the richest sources of which are nuts, seeds, cereals and plant oils. Understanding the way vitamin E repairs muscle cell membranes could have implications for muscular dystrophy and diabetes-related muscle weakness.

Written by Nick Kennedy

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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