Vitamin E and Palm OilPalm oil is a good source of Vitamin E. A fat-soluble vitamin, Vitamin E is an essential micronutrient for humans and consists of two series of compounds - tocopherols and tocotrienols.
Both are characterized by a side chain which is saturated in the tocopherols , but unsaturated in the tocotrienols.
Although tocopherols occur in several vegetable oils, palm oil represents one of the richest, natural sources of tocotrienols, which are also present in rice bran and barley.
The Vitamin E in palm oil is a mixture of different tocopherols (18-22%) and tocotrienols (78-82%). Alpha and gamma tocopherol each account for about 35% of total tocopherols, while gamma tocopherol accounts for about 10%.
Amongst the tocotrienols, the major ones are gamma tocotrienol (46%), alpha tocotrienol (22%) and delta tocotrienol (12%).
Recently, palm oil-derived tocotrienols have been extensively studied for their antioxidant capabilities, anti-cancer properties (for which there is strong supportive scientific evidence), as well as their ability to influence cholesterol metabolism.
Although some of the earlier studies suggested that supplementation with tocotrienols lowered cholesterol by affecting endogenous synthesis, a recent study noted no effect. This may in part be due to the fact that it is not yet resolved which of the tocotrienol isomers are involved.
Vitamin E and Palm Oil
