CHICAGO Vitamin E supplements appear to have no antioxidant benefits, believed to protect against illnesses like cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

"Our results question the rationale for vitamin E supplementation in healthy individuals," said the study from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The study, published in last week's ***Journal of the American Medical Association***, was based on a look at 30 men and women. Some received vitamin E supplements daily for eight weeks while others received an inert placebo.

Doctors measured the impact of the vitamin on lipid peroxidation, an indicator of oxidative stress in cells and tissues.

The study failed to find any impact of vitamin E on three measurements used to detect lipid peroxidation.

"The average Western diet provides the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E, and the (natural) levels in the individuals in our study fell within the normal range," the study said.

"We found no evidence of additional effects of supplementing these individuals with a range of dosages of vitamin E on their rate of lipid peroxidation," it concluded.

(Reuter)