Vitamin studies from Japan

If the vitamin E movement in UHMWPE biomaterials was bom in Torino in 2003, then its conception occurred in Japan by Professor Naohide Tomita from the University of Kyoto. Japan has a history of early adoption of vitamin E both in packaging as well as in orthopedic implants. Vitamin E has been used in Japan as an environmentally friendly additive for polyolefins since the late 1980s [11]. In light of its acceptance as an effective antioxidant, a manufacturer from Japan (Nakashima Medical Co., Ltd., http //www.medical.nakashima.co.jp) was also the first supplier to produce UHMWPE blended with vitamin E for total knee replacements, and these implants have been in clinical use in Japan since 2006 [18] (Figure 16.4). The commercialization of vitamin-E-blended UHMWPE in Japan is largely based on the research efforts of Professor Tomita and Nobuyuki Shibata, who was a doctoral student at the time [1,19-21]. These studies have been recently summarized [18] consequently the contributions of the Kyoto research group are only briefly reviewed herein. 

Further support for the cardioprotective effect of flavonoids has been obtained from a reexamination of food records from 16 cohorts within the Seven Countries Study [10]. During a 25-year follow-up period, an inverse association was observed between CHD mortality and flavonoid intake this explained a small but significant portion (8%) of the variance in CHD deaths, independently of intakes of alcohol and antioxidant vitamins. CHD mortality was observed to be lowest in Japan with an estimated average flavonoid intake of 61 mg/d, mainly derived from green tea. 

Cui, R., Iso, H., Date, C., Kikuchi, S., and Tamakoshi, A., 2010. Dietary folate and vitamin b6 and B12 intake in relation to mortality from cardiovascular diseases Japan collaborative cohort study. Stroke. 41 1285-1289. 

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