Tocopherols and Tocotrienols (Vitamin E)

Vitamin E consists of four tocopherols and four tocotrienols which have important and far-reaching biological activities. These essential lipids contain a common chromanol ring and either a saturated (tocopherol) or unsaturated (tocotrienol) side chain. The eight common vitamin E isoforms are α-, β-, γ-, and δ-tocopherol and α-, β-, γ-, and δ-tocotrienols. The vitamin E vitamers are commonly found in vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, grains and oils where they exist in various ratios with each other.