What is Vitamin E | Vitamin E (tocopherols) | Main Sources of Vitamin E
What is Vitamin E | Vitamin E (tocopherols) | Main Sources of Vitamin E | What are the Benefits of Vitamin E | What is d-Alpha-Tocopherol
Vitamin E is a generic term for tocopherols and tocotrienols. Vitamin E is a family of α-, β-, γ-, and δ-tocopherols and corresponding four tocotrienols. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant that stops the production of reactive oxygen species formed when fat undergoes oxidation. Of these, α-tocopherol (also written as alpha-tocopherol) has been most studied as it has the highest bioavailability.
It has been claimed that α-tocopherol is the most important lipid-soluble antioxidant, and that it protects cell membranes from oxidation by reacting with lipid radicals produced in the lipid peroxidation chain reaction. This would remove the free radical intermediates and prevent the oxidation reaction from continuing.
The oxidised α-tocopheroxyl radicals produced in this process may be recycled back to the active reduced form through reduction by other antioxidants, such as ascorbate, retinol or ubiquinol. However, the importance of the antioxidant properties of this molecule at the concentrations present in the body are not clear and it is possible that the reason why vitamin E is required in the diet is unrelated to its ability to act as an antioxidant.
Other forms of vitamin E have their own unique properties. For example, γ-tocopherol (also written as gamma-tocopherol) is a nucleophile that can react with electrophilic mutagens
Approximately 50 to 85 percent of vitamin E in the diet is absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract by a mechanism similar to that of other fat-soluble vitamins. It enters the bloodstream via the lymph.
The vitamin is stored in all the tissues, and the tissue stores can provide protection against the deficiency of this vitamin for long periods. About one-third of the vitamin is excreted in the bile and the balance is excreted in the urine.
What are the Main Sources of Vitamin E ?
Vitamin E is found in the following foods:
* Wheat germ
* Corn
* Nuts
* Seeds
* Olives
* Spinach and other green leafy vegetables
* Asparagus
* Vegetable oils — corn, sunflower, soybean, cottonseed
Products made from these foods, such as margarine, also contain vitamin E.
What are the Benefits of Vitamin E ?
Perhaps you’ve heard about the possible health benefits of vitamin E but you are having trouble separating the outrageous claims from the solid medical advice. Well, in this section, we will take a clinical look at the benefits of vitamin E and how it can improve your health. First, we will examine vitamin E’s role as an antioxidant and then examine how this could impact your everyday life.
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