High doses of vitamin E may help mice live longer, according to a new study by Spanish and Argentinean researchers.

Male mice given the vitamin lived an average 40% longer than their peers and showed a much higher level of acrobatic prowess when they performed on a high-wire tightrope, the researchers found. The improvements were due to the vitamin’s antioxidant properties, they say.



The mice used in the study were of a strain with accelerated ageing, with an average lifespan of 61 weeks. At 28 weeks of age half of the study’s 300 mice were given daily supplements of vitamin E, equivalent to a dosage of about 1.2 – 2.2 grams per day in humans (a level which is as much as five times the upper limit recommended by the US national dietary guidelines).



The mice that had received vitamin E supplements lived an average 85 weeks – 40% longer than normal. No negative side effects of the high dose were observed by the researchers.



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