Ann. Méd. Vét., 2003, 147 (5), pp 315 - 324 Chemistry, nutritional sources and analyses of vitamin ECuvelier C., Dotreppe O., Istasse L.Abstract :
Vitamin E is a part of the defence mechanism for the inactivation of free radicals and is therefore implicated in the oxidative stress. Chemistry of vitamin E is relatively complex. Vitamin E includes 2 large groups of molecules, tocopherols and tocotrienols, each including 32 stereoisomers. Vitamin E is synthesized in plants, algae, and moulds but not in animals. The greatest quantities of vitamin E are found in cereals and vegetable oils. Vitamin E analyses are difficult to perform. After treatment of a sample with an organic solvent such as ethanol, vitamin E is usually extracted into hexane. Identification and quantification are carried out mainly by chromatography such as normal-phase liquid chromatography and reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Get the PDF Contact person : ccuvelier@ulg.ac.be |