"ID","Category","Reference","Year","Study design","Population / model","N","Vitamin E form","Dose","Duration","Comparator","Immune / clinical endpoints","Main findings","Direction","Key limitations / interpretation","PMID","DOI","PubMed / source URL"
"H01","Human RCT—immune","Meydani et al.","1990","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial","Healthy older adults in metabolic research unit","32","dl-α-tocopheryl acetate","800 mg/day","30 days","Placebo","DTH; PBMC proliferation; IL-1; IL-2; PGE2; lipid peroxides","Increased DTH, IL-2 and ConA-stimulated proliferation; reduced PBMC PGE2 and plasma lipid peroxides.","Positive","Small, short trial; high dose; immune endpoints rather than disease outcomes.","2203257","10.1093/ajcn/52.3.557","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2203257/"
"H02","Human RCT—immune/vaccine","Meydani et al.","1997","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial","Free-living healthy adults ≥65 y","88","all-rac-α-tocopherol","60, 200, or 800 mg/day","235 days (immune outcomes reported after ~4 months)","Placebo","DTH; hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, pneumococcal vaccine antibodies; immunoglobulins; T/B cells; autoantibodies","200 mg/day produced 65% DTH increase and ~6-fold hepatitis-B titer rise; tetanus response increased; diphtheria, immunoglobulins, T/B-cell counts and autoantibodies not improved.","Positive / mixed","Multiple endpoints; strongest effect at 200 mg rather than monotonic dose response; not proof of universal vaccine benefit.","9134944","10.1001/jama.1997.03540410058031","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9134944/"
"H03","Human RCT—immune","De Waart et al.","1997","Double-blind placebo-controlled intervention","Adults ≥65 y","52 cellular; 74 humoral","dl-α-tocopheryl acetate","100 mg/day","3 months","Placebo","PBMC proliferation to ConA/PHA; IgG/IgA/IgG4 to common antigens","Plasma α-tocopherol rose ~51%, but no significant improvement in cellular or humoral immune responsiveness.","Neutral","Different baseline proliferative responses required adjustment; modest dose; endpoints mostly ex vivo.","9389899","10.1079/BJN19970193","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9389899/"
"H04","Human RCT—immune","Pallast et al.","1999","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial","Noninstitutionalized adults 65–80 y","161","Vitamin E","50 or 100 mg/day","6 months","Placebo","DTH; IL-2; IFN-γ; IL-4; cellular immune responsiveness","Some dose-related trends in DTH/IL-2, but many differences did not remain significant after multiple-comparison correction.","Mixed / mostly neutral","Moderate doses; multiple endpoints; subgroup signals should be interpreted cautiously.","10357750","10.1093/ajcn/69.6.1273","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10357750/"
"H05","Human RCT—immune/safety","Meydani et al.","1998","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial; companion analysis","Healthy adults >65 y from 88-person trial","88","all-rac-α-tocopherol","60, 200, or 800 IU/day (55,182,727 mg)","4 months","Placebo","Neutrophil Candida killing; immunoglobulins; autoantibodies; blood counts; bleeding time; safety labs","No significant effects on nonspecific immunoglobulins or anti-DNA/anti-thyroglobulin antibodies; neutrophil Candida killing not compromised; no adverse safety signal over 4 months.","Neutral for these immune endpoints","Companion analysis of same cohort as H02; primarily safety, not efficacy.","9701188","10.1093/ajcn/68.2.311","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9701188/"
"H06","Human RCT—clinical infection","Graat et al.","2002","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled 2×2 factorial trial","Community-dwelling adults ≥60 y","652","α-tocopheryl acetate","200 mg/day","Up to 15 months; median 441 days","No vitamin E; factorial multivitamin-mineral","Acute respiratory infection incidence and severity","No significant reduction in ARI incidence (rate ratio 1.12); illness duration, symptom number, fever and activity restriction were worse with vitamin E.","Negative / adverse signal","Well-nourished population; self-reported infections assessed by nurses with microbiology/serology in subsets.","12169075","10.1001/jama.288.6.715","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12169075/"
"H07","Human RCT—clinical infection","Meydani et al.","2004","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial","Nursing-home residents ≥65 y at 33 facilities","617","dl-α-tocopherol","200 IU/day","1 year","Placebo; all received 1/2 RDA multivitamin/mineral","Overall, upper and lower respiratory infections; days ill; antibiotics; common cold post hoc","No significant effect on overall incidence or days with all/upper/lower RI; fewer participants acquired ≥1 RI/URI in some analyses; post-hoc common-cold signals favored vitamin E.","Mixed","Common-cold analysis post hoc; completion vs ITT results differ in significance; institutionalized elderly population.","15315997","10.1001/jama.292.7.828","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15315997/"
"H08","Human RCT—biomarkers","van Amsterdam et al.","2005","Randomized placebo-controlled trial; biomarker analysis","Relatively healthy Dutch elderly","100","Vitamin E","200 mg/day","15 months","Placebo","Serum DHEA-S; neopterin; infection severity context","No significant effect on DHEA-S or neopterin; consistent with lack of protection against respiratory-infection severity in parent study.","Neutral","Biomarkers are indirect measures of immunocompetence; linked to Graat trial context.","16477764","10.1024/0300-9831.75.5.327","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16477764/"
"H09","Human RCT—combined intervention","Wu et al.","2006","Randomized double-blind trial","Healthy adults >65 y","40","dl-α-tocopherol plus fish oil","0,100,200,400 mg/day vitamin E + 5 g fish oil/day","3 months","Fish oil only","DTH; T-cell subsets; PBMC proliferation; IL-2","DTH rose from baseline in vitamin-E groups and PBMC proliferation in 200-mg group, but changes were not significantly different from fish-oil control; authors concluded fish oil dampened vitamin-E effect.","Mixed / neutral between groups","All groups received fish oil; cannot estimate vitamin E alone vs placebo.","16943451","10.1080/07315724.2006.10719539","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16943451/"
"H10","Human RCT—tocopherol/TRF","Radhakrishnan et al.","2008","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial","Healthy Asian volunteers 20–50 y","53","α-tocopherol or palm tocotrienol-rich fraction","200 mg/day","56 days","Placebo","ConA-stimulated IL-4 and IFN-γ; immune parameters","No significant immunomodulatory differences for α-tocopherol or TRF in absence of an immunogenic challenge.","Neutral","Young healthy population; no vaccine/infection challenge.","18702848","10.1017/S0007114508039998","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18702848/"
"H11","Human RCT—tocotrienol/vaccine","Mahalingam et al.","2011","Double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial","Healthy female volunteers","—","Palm tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF)","400 mg/day","2 months; tetanus vaccine day 28","Placebo","Tetanus-toxoid antibody and cytokine responses","TRF supplementation enhanced immune response following tetanus-toxoid challenge in the published trial.","Positive","Tocotrienol-rich mixture, not α-tocopherol; population limited to healthy women; verify full-text N before public display.","20859299","10.1038/ejcn.2010.184","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20859299/"
"H12","Human RCT—tocotrienol/vaccine","Chen et al.","2026","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled 5-arm trial","Healthy adults ≥18 y","150","Palm tocotrienol-rich fraction","50,100,200,400 mg/day","2 months; influenza vaccine day 28","Placebo","Anti-influenza antibodies; IFN-γ/Th1; IL-12; EBI3; leukocytes; antioxidant status","All TRF doses augmented anti-influenza antibody production; IFN-γ increased after restimulation; higher-dose groups showed broader immunomodulatory changes.","Positive","Recent single-center trial; palm TRF mixture; partly industry-sector funded; replication needed.","42579941","10.1016/j.nutres.2026.07.004","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42579941/"
"H13","Human RCT—multi-nutrient","Penn et al.","1991","Randomized controlled trial","Elderly long-stay patients","—","Vitamins A+C+E combination","Combination; exact vitamin-E dose to verify from full text","—","Control","Cell-mediated immune function","Combination antioxidant/vitamin supplementation studied cell-mediated immunity in elderly long-stay patients.","Combination study","Cannot attribute effects specifically to vitamin E; full-text extraction required for dose/N/outcome details.","1853789","10.1093/ageing/20.3.169","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1853789/"
"H14","Human RCT—multi-nutrient/infection","Girodon et al.","1997","Double-blind controlled randomized trial","Institutionalized elderly in geriatric center","81","Micronutrient combination including vitamin E","Combination","2 years","Control","Infectious morbidity","Micronutrient supplementation assessed infectious morbidity over 2 years.","Combination study","Cannot isolate vitamin E effect; small institutionalized sample.","9267584","10.1159/000177984","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9267584/"
"H15","Human RCT—multi-nutrient/infection/vaccine","Girodon et al.","1999","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled 2×2 factorial trial","Institutionalized adults >65 y in 25 geriatric centers","725","Vitamin mixture: β-carotene + vitamin C + vitamin E","Nutritional doses in vitamin arm","2 years","Placebo / trace elements","DTH; influenza-vaccine humoral response; infections; mortality","No treatment effect on DTH after first year; trial separates vitamin mixture from trace-element arm but cannot isolate vitamin E.","Mixed / combination","Vitamin E administered with β-carotene and vitamin C; attribution to vitamin E impossible.","10218756","10.1001/archinte.159.7.748","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10218756/"
"H16","Human secondary analysis—genetics","Belisle et al.","2010","Secondary genetic analysis of prior RCT","Elderly nursing-home residents from Meydani 2004 trial","500 genotyped","Vitamin E","200 IU/day","1 year","Placebo","Respiratory infections by cytokine-gene SNPs and sex","IL-2/IL-10 polymorphisms and sex were associated with infection risk and may modify vitamin-E effect on lower RI.","Exploratory / effect modification","Post hoc/secondary analysis; interaction findings require replication.","20484443","10.3945/ajcn.2010.29207","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20484443/"
"H17","Human RCT—immune-mediated disease","Aryaeian et al.","2014","Randomized double-blind 4-arm trial","Adults with active rheumatoid arthritis","78","Vitamin E alone or with conjugated linoleic acid","400 mg/day vitamin E","3 months","Placebo; CLA; CLA+E","Inflammatory and immune parameters in RA","Vitamin E was tested alone and with CLA for immune/inflammatory outcomes in active RA.","Disease-specific / mixed","Immune-mediated disease; not evidence of enhanced normal immunity. Consult full text for endpoint-specific direction.","25709792","Not listed in PubMed record","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25709792/"
"H18","Human RCT—immune-mediated disease","Javanbakht et al.","2016","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial","Mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis","70","Vitamin E","400 IU/day","4 months","Placebo","SCORAD, itch, lesion extent, recurrence","Vitamin E improved several clinical AD measures vs placebo; recurrence after treatment was not significantly different.","Positive disease-specific","Clinical disease endpoint, not normal immune competence; IgE mechanism not equivalent to immune enhancement.","26941808","Not identified in searched PubMed record","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26941808/"
"H19","Human clinical trial—immune-mediated disease","Tsoureli-Nikita et al.","2002","Clinical trial","Atopic dermatitis","96 reported in secondary descriptions; verify full text","Vitamin E","400 IU/day reported in secondary descriptions; verify full text","8 months reported in secondary descriptions; verify full text","Control","Clinical course; serum IgE","Study evaluated oral vitamin E in AD with clinical and IgE outcomes.","Disease-specific","PubMed labels clinical trial; randomization/blinding and exact arm details should be verified from full text before website use.","12010339","10.1046/j.1365-4362.2002.01423.x","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12010339/"
"H20","Human RCT—autoimmune prevention","Karlson et al.","2008","Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial; secondary endpoint of Women's Health Study","Female health professionals ≥45 y without RA at baseline","39,144 analyzed","Vitamin E","600 IU every other day","~10 years","Placebo","Incident rheumatoid arthritis","Randomized vitamin E did not establish prevention of incident RA in the Women's Health Study analysis.","Neutral","RA prevention is immune-mediated disease incidence, not general immune function; secondary analysis of a large prevention trial.","18975365","10.1002/art.24194","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18975365/"
"H21","Human RCT—RA inflammation","Edmonds et al.","1997","Prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial","Rheumatoid arthritis patients on antirheumatic drugs","42","α-tocopherol","600 mg twice daily","12 weeks","Placebo","Clinical inflammation, pain, hematologic/biochemical inflammatory markers, oxidative damage","Analgesic effects were reported without clear improvement in conventional inflammatory disease activity measures.","Mixed disease-specific","Very high dose; small RA trial; not normal immunity.","9462166","10.1136/ard.56.11.649","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9462166/"
"A01","Animal—aging immunity","Meydani et al.","1986","Controlled dietary animal experiment","Young (3 mo) and old (24 mo) C57BL/6J mice","—","dl-α-tocopheryl acetate","30 vs 500 ppm diet","6 weeks","30 ppm diet","DNFB DTH; splenocyte ConA/LPS proliferation; splenic PGE2","In old mice, 500 ppm enhanced DTH and mitogen responses and lowered splenic PGE2.","Positive preclinical","Mouse model; dietary ppm not directly translatable to human supplement dose.","3487685","10.1016/0047-6374(86)90034-5","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3487685/"
"A02","Animal—T-cell helper/humoral","Tanaka et al.","1979","Controlled dietary mouse study","Inbred SL and DDD mice","—","Vitamin E / tocopheryl acetate or nicotinate","0,20,200 mg/kg food","~50+ days before immunization","Unsupplemented diet","Antibody to HRBC/TNP; helper T-cell activity; IgM→IgG shift","Vitamin E increased antibody titers and helper T-cell activity in a dose-dependent manner; suggested facilitation of IgM-to-IgG shift.","Positive preclinical","Older animal study; antigen models not clinical infection.","316418","No DOI listed in PubMed record","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/316418/"
"A03","Animal—influenza","Hayek et al.","1997","Controlled dietary infection experiment","Young and old C57BL/6NIA mice infected with influenza A","—","Vitamin E","30 vs 500 ppm diet","Pre-infection dietary supplementation","30 ppm diet","Lung viral titer; NK activity; pulmonary CTL","Vitamin E lowered lung viral titers, especially in old mice, and restored age-impaired NK activity; pulmonary CTL activity was not significantly changed.","Positive / endpoint-specific","Mouse influenza model; not evidence of human influenza prevention.","9207381","10.1086/517265","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9207381/"
"A04","Animal—influenza mechanism","Han et al.","2000","Controlled dietary infection experiment","Old mice infected with influenza virus","—","Vitamin E","Supplemented diet; exact ppm in full text","—","Control diet","IL-2; IFN-γ; macrophage PGE2; pulmonary viral titer","Vitamin E increased Th1 cytokine production, reduced macrophage PGE2, and was associated with lower lung viral titers.","Positive preclinical","Mechanistic aged-mouse model; exact dietary regimen should be extracted from full text for database completion.","10929076","10.1046/j.1365-2567.2000.00070.x","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10929076/"
"A05","Animal—influenza long-term","Han et al.","2000","Controlled long-term dietary antioxidant experiment","18-month-old C57BL/6NCrlBR mice","—","Vitamin E","Supplemented diet; exact dose in full text","6 months","Control and other antioxidant diets","Influenza lung viral titer; weight loss; lung IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α","Vitamin E group had lower lung viral titers and less weight loss; lung IL-6 and TNF-α were lower than controls.","Positive preclinical","Multiple antioxidant comparison arms; animal model.","11034223","10.1093/gerona/55.10.B496","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11034223/"
"R01","Review—aging immunity","Meydani & Hayek","1995","Narrative review","Human and animal aging literature","—","Vitamin E","—","—","—","Aging immune response and vitamin E intervention","Summarizes animal and human evidence for immunostimulatory effects of vitamin E in aging.","Review","Historical review; use primary studies for clinical claims.","8556687","Not listed in PubMed record","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8556687/"
"R02","Review—infection/aging","Han & Meydani","2000","Narrative review","Aged mice and elderly humans","—","Vitamin E and antioxidants","—","—","—","Cytokines; influenza; aging","Integrates antioxidant, cytokine and influenza evidence in aged mice and older humans.","Review","Use for context and citation mining, not as sole support for clinical claims.","10944487","10.1086/315915","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10944487/"
"R03","Review—infectious disease","Meydani et al.","1999","Narrative review","Aging / infectious disease literature","—","Vitamin E","—","—","—","Influenza and infection resistance","Reviews vitamin E, age-related immune decline, and infection-resistance studies.","Review","Primary trials/animal studies should support substantive claims.","10604205","Not identified in searched record","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10604205/"
"R04","Review—respiratory infection","Meydani, Han & Hamer","2004","Narrative review","Elderly respiratory infection literature","—","Vitamin E","—","—","—","DTH, vaccine response, respiratory infections","Reviews immune RCTs and nursing-home respiratory infection trial.","Review","Some language emphasizes positive common-cold findings; balance with Graat 2002.","15753147","10.1196/annals.1331.021","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15753147/"
"R05","Review—mechanisms/aging","Meydani, Han & Wu","2005","Narrative mechanistic review","Human and animal aging literature","—","Primarily α-tocopherol","—","—","—","T-cell proliferation; IL-2; PGE2; naïve vs memory T cells; vaccines; infections","Major synthesis linking vitamin E to age-related T-cell function, PGE2, vaccination and infection evidence.","Review","Highly useful map of literature; primary studies required for claims.","15882360","10.1111/j.0105-2896.2005.00274.x","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15882360/"
"R06","Review—immunosenescence","Wu & Meydani","2014","Narrative review","Age-associated immune function literature","—","Vitamin E","—","—","—","T-cell aging; PGE2; mechanisms; infection","Reviews direct T-cell and indirect macrophage/PGE2 mechanisms and clinical implications.","Review","Focuses substantially on authors' program of work; useful for mechanism/citation mining.","25244230","Not identified in searched PubMed record","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25244230/"
"R07","Review—immune regulation/inflammation","Lewis, Meydani & Wu","2019","Narrative review","Cell, preclinical and clinical literature","—","α-tocopherol plus other tocopherols/tocotrienols","—","—","—","T-cell membrane/signaling/division; inflammatory mediators; infections; allergic disease","Broad modern review emphasizing direct and indirect immunomodulatory mechanisms and emerging non-α forms.","Review","Useful for citation mining; some conclusions should be checked against mixed clinical RCTs.","30501009","10.1002/iub.1976","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30501009/"
"R08","Review—general immunity/disease resistance","Tengerdy","1989","Narrative review","Laboratory/farm animals and humans","—","Vitamin E","—","—","—","Humoral/cellular immunity; phagocytosis; disease resistance","Historical synthesis of vitamin E immune and disease-resistance evidence.","Review","Older heterogeneous evidence base; includes veterinary/adjuvant literature.","2698109","10.1111/j.1749-6632.1989.tb14932.x","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2698109/"
"R09","Review—general immunity/disease resistance","Tengerdy","1990","Narrative review","Animal and human literature","—","Vitamin E","—","—","—","Humoral/cellular immunity; phagocytosis; disease resistance","Reviews vitamin E supplementation and adjuvant effects across species.","Review","Historical heterogeneous evidence; not a substitute for human RCTs.","2193574","10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb00130.x","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2193574/"