P. Schudel

Chemistry of Vitamin E

Publisher Summary Vitamin E occurs in vegetable oils and acts as a biological antioxidant. It is distributed throughout the tissues of animals and man, and its deficiency causes a variety of syndromes in the animal organism. This chapter shows the preferred routes to specific labelings of vitamin E and has indicated the chemical research that is necessary for getting a final stereochemical insight into the tocopherol molecules. Similar investigations on related natural chromanols and ohromenols might help to elucidate their mutual biogenetic relationship. Furthermore, the reported chemical interconversions of trimethylphytylbenzoquinone into either α-tocopherol or 3,4-dehydro-α-tocopherol may indicate some biological interrelations, which might also be common to the related natural quinones, chromanols, and chromenols listed in this chapter.