Vitamins are essential nutrients and therefore, they must come through the food we consume. Some vitamins are soluble in water while some are not. Vitamin E belongs to the class of fat soluble vitamins. The term “vitamin E” actually denotes two classes of compounds called tocopherols and tocotrienols. Both of them show vitamin E activity. There is a subtle difference in structure between the tocopherols and tocotrienols, the latter being more unsaturated. There are four each of tocopherols and tocotrienols. The best known function of vitamin E is to act as an antioxidant. The tocotrienols are in the news because of their superior antioxidant activity.
