What is Vitamin E?
Vitamin E consists of 8 naturally occuring isomers of:
4 tocopherols (alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ) and delta (δ)) and
4 tocotrienols (alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ) and delta (δ)).
How Vitamin E acts as antioxidant?
Metabolism and exposure to environmental pollution, ultraviolet radiation, toxic chemicals causes free radicals to be formed. Free radicals can cause significant cellular damage. Free radical lacks an electron making it highly unstable molecule. An electron from molecules such as proteins and lipids in human body cells are taken by free radical. Once a stable molecule lacks an electron, it becomes a free radical.
Antioxidants (eg tocotrienol and tocopherol) can inactivate free radicals by donating one of their electrons to the free radical. (Tocotrienols able to donate a hydrogen atom (a proton plus electron) from the hydroxyl group on the chromanol ring). Antioxidants are unique as they do not become a free radical themselves because they remain stable before and after donating the electron. This stops the domino effect of free radicals being created. Therefore, limits cells and tissues damage.
Alpha-tocotrienol is 40-60 times more potent than alpha-tocopherol as an antioxidant and highly protective of the body against free radical attacks.
Where Tocotrienols can be found?
Tocotrienols are naturally found in palm oil, wheat germ, barley and oat. Tocotrienols only occurs at very low levels in nature with the highest concentration found in palm oil.
Tocotrienol are commercially obtained from palm, rice bran and annatto.
It is impossible to attain the amount of tocotrienols that show beneficial effects from the normal diet alone. A person would have to consume unreasonably large quantities of these foods to achieve an effective level of tocotrienols in his/her body.
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