FAQs

Tocotrienols are part of the Vitamin E family. Tocotrienols have a similar structure to tocopherols, but contain three double bonds in the carbon side chain of the molecule.  The Vitamin E family is comprised of eight different isomers : alpha, beta, gamma and delta- tocotrienol and tocopherol.

Tocotrienol is naturally found in the seeds and fruits of some botanicals. They are found at high concentration in palm oil. Other sources are rice, wheat germ, oat and barley.

Yes and it has FDA self-affirmed GRAS status.  Toxicological and pharmacological studies showed that supplementation with palm based tocotrienols, up to 2500mg per day per kilogram of body weight, did not produce any side effects. In addition, tocotrienol is a natural compound found in various foods and oils such as palm olein, rice bran oil, wheat germ, barley, etc. One may be taking tocotrienol through these common foods without even realizing it.

Tocotrienol is lipophilic or fat soluble. It is absorbed through the GI tract as other lipid-soluble vitamins (A, D and K) and phytonutrients like carotenoids. The absorption of these compounds is dependent on the physiological processes of the stomach and small intestine especially fat intake.

Tocotrienol has been approved for use in dietary supplement in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada and the United States. Due to the recent research work with tocotrienols and that scientific evidence supporting the health benefits of tocotrienols, the FDA has assigned tocotrienols as self-affirmed GRAS (Oct 2009).

At the moment, there is no RDA for tocotrienols. It was only in the early 1980s that research scientist all over the world, started to investigate this new vitamin E. As the scientific evidence of tocotrienols is relatively new, the US FDA and US Pharmacopeia have not assigned vitamin E activity to tocotrienols. All the human and animal studies have been based on milligram of pure tocotrienols per day basis. For human studies, the highest tested dose is 500mg/60-kg adult. For those people who want to maintain a healthy level of cholesterol and breast/prostate health, the consensus among tocotrienol research scientists was a dosage of 50-100mg/day.

The various human studies and dosage used in these studies specifically for a therapeutic condition are: 1. Since the early 1990s, there were hints that antioxidants could have some effect in showing regression of arteriosclerosis (improvement of artery health and blood flow). Dr Anthony Verlangieri of the Atherosclerosis Laboratory at the University of Mississippi published his research in reversing atherosclerosis in monkeys with antioxidant nutrients. A report in JAMA in 1995 showed that antioxidant vitamins slowed progression of coronary atherosclerosis. In a three-year, double-blind clinical study at the Kenneth Jordan Heart Foundation, New Jersey, on 50 patients with Carotid Stenosis (blockage of the carotid artery, the main artery that supplies blood to the brain), patients were given a supplementation of 240mg palm tocotrienol complex per day. Within 6 months, 92% of the patients had an improvement in their blood flow through the carotid artery, indicating the ability of palm tocotrienol complex to reverse artery blockage and improve artery health. 2. Palm tocotrienol complex has been proven by numerous human and animal studies to have the ability to inhibit cholesterol production in the liver. Tocotrienols are potent and effective natural antioxidant nutrients to have the ability to inhibit the key enzyme that is responsible for cholesterol production in the body: HMG CoA Reductase. In human cholesterol lowering human studies, mild hypercholesterolemia patients were given a supplementation of 200mg palm based tocotrienols per day. Significant reduction of total serum cholesterol was observed within 6 to 8 weeks. The reduction of total serum cholesterol was between 15-33% whereas the HDL level was no affected. In another cross-over human study carried out at the Science University of Malaysia, randomly picked subjects with uncontrolled diet was given supplementation of 100mg palm tocotrienols per day. Within 8 to 10 weeks, there was a significant reduction of 10-12% of total cholesterol level in the group that received tocotrienols. 3. There are four reputable research centers that are currently furthering their research on the ability of palm tocotrienol complex to inhibit both the estrogen positive and negative human breast cancer cells. The research centers are University of Reading, UK, University of Louisiana, University of Western Ontario, and Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). At the moment, research is focused on elucidating the mechanism of inhibition of breast cancer cells by tocotrienols, In addition, the University of Wisconsin is currently carrying out studies on the inhibitory effect of tocotrienols on hepatocarcinogenesis.

The idea of using tocotrienols in cosmetic and personal care products is recent. Being a more potent vitamin E, research scientists especially at the University of California, Berkeley, have started to investigate the additional benefits of tocotrienols over the alpha tocopherol vitamin E in the prevention of skin aging/damage. Studies performed in USA and Japan showed that diet-derived or topically applied tocotrienols preferentially accumulate at the stratum corneum to defend against free radicals generated by exposure to environment agents such as sun ray (UV).

Look for a natural, palm derived tocotrienol complex product. If minimally processed, it should also contain the other phyto-nutrients found naturally in palm oil. These include phytosterols, squalene and mixed carotenoids, thus offering a “platter” of a natural and wholesome phyto-nutrient complex. Other rice-derived tocotrienols are also available in the market.

Majority of the in-vitro, animal, human studies published so far, on the health benefits of tocotrienols was carried out with palm tocotrienol complex. Palm tocotrienol complex has very different chemistry and contents from rice based tocotrienols. The ratio of tocotrienols to tocopherol in palm tocotrienol complex is very much higher at 2.5to 1.0. In rice base tocotrienols, it is approximately 1.0 to 1.0.