Are you familiar with tocotrienols and their unique health benefits?

Tocotrienols are the lesser-known half of vitamin E. Vitamin E comes in eight forms: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma and delta). Tocotrienols differ by an unsaturated side chain, which helps them move more easily through cell membranes in laboratory models. Research looks at their links to the liver, cholesterol, bones, nerve cells and skin, but most data so far come from laboratory work and small clinical studies. The richest source is palm oil.

What will you learn in this article?

1. Vitamin E: tocopherols and tocotrienols
2. The difference between tocopherols and tocotrienols
3. Tocotrienols and their health benefits: what research shows
4. Where are tocotrienols found?
5. How much tocotrienols per day, and who should avoid them
6. ProLife: tocotrienols from virgin palm oil
7. Key takeaways

Vitamin E: tocopherols and tocotrienols

Vitamin E is not a single substance. It is a collective name for eight fat-soluble compounds: alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-tocopherol and alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-tocotrienol. All of them have antioxidant properties and settle in the fatty layers of cell membranes, where they trap free radicals. How antioxidants work in the body and which foods contain them is covered in our article All about antioxidants and polyphenols.

Supplement labels most often list alpha-tocopherol. The body keeps this form in the blood preferentially, and the nutrient reference value (NRV) of 12 mg a day is based on it. Tocotrienols are the less studied group. Scientists are interested in them because in some laboratory experiments they behave differently from tocopherols.

The difference between tocopherols and tocotrienols

Both groups share the same head (a chromanol ring) but differ in the tail. Tocopherols have a saturated side chain. Tocotrienols have an unsaturated chain with three double bonds, which is why they are sometimes called unsaturated vitamin E.

The unsaturated chain is more flexible. A study by Suzuki and colleagues (1993) on rat liver cell membranes found that alpha-tocotrienol spreads more evenly through the membrane and meets free radicals more often. In this model it protected membrane fats from oxidation 40 to 60 times more effectively than alpha-tocopherol.^[1] A later comparison by Yoshida and colleagues (2003), however, showed that in solution tocopherols and tocotrienols react with free radicals at a similar rate. The difference appears mainly in membranes, in how easily the molecule reaches the radicals.^[2]

Tocotrienols and their health benefits: what research shows

The overview below sums up what studies have shown so far, ordered by the strength of evidence in humans, strongest first. None of these effects is an authorised health claim, and tocotrienols are not a treatment for any disease.

Tocotrienols and the liver

Tocotrienols accumulate in the liver in higher amounts. A randomised, placebo-controlled study by Magosso and colleagues (2013) followed 87 adults with fatty liver and mildly raised cholesterol. Participants took 400 mg of mixed tocotrienols a day for one year. A normal liver ultrasound returned in 34.9% of people in the tocotrienol group and in 18.2% of the placebo group.^[3] The authors call it a pilot study, and larger studies are needed to confirm the result.

Tocotrienols and cholesterol

In laboratory experiments, tocotrienols dampen the liver enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which controls cholesterol production in the body. Tocopherols do not share this property.^[4] A small double-blind study by Baliarsingh and colleagues (2005) included 19 people with type 2 diabetes and raised blood lipids. After 60 days of a tocotrienol-rich fraction, total cholesterol fell by 30% on average and LDL cholesterol by 42%.^[5] This is a single small study in a specific group, so tocotrienols do not replace treatment prescribed by a doctor.

Tocotrienols and hair

A study by Beoy and colleagues (2010) included 21 volunteers with thinning hair. The group that took 100 mg of mixed tocotrienols a day for 8 months had 34.5% more hairs at the end than at the start. Hair number did not increase in the placebo group.^[6] It is a small study that has not yet been repeated.

Tocotrienols and skin

Tocotrienols from food are stored in the skin, mainly in its outer layer (stratum corneum). In a study by Traber and colleagues (1997) in mice, tocotrienols in the skin protected skin fats from oxidation after UV exposure.^[7] This effect has not been confirmed in humans, and tocotrienols do not replace sunscreen.

Tocotrienols and nerve cells

According to a review by Sen and colleagues (2004), alpha-tocotrienol protects cultured nerve cells from glutamate damage at nanomolar concentrations. Alpha-tocopherol did not do this in the same experiments.^[8] Japanese laboratory studies by Fukui and colleagues showed that tocotrienols prevent the breakdown of nerve cell extensions (axons and dendrites) exposed to oxidative stress.^[9][10][11] All of these results come from cell cultures and have not been confirmed in humans.

Tocotrienols and bones

A review by Chin and colleagues (2013) summarises animal experiments. In them, tocotrienols supported genes for bone formation and dampened inflammatory signals that break bone down. Tocopherols did not show this effect.^[12] Human studies are still missing. How to look after your bones through diet and exercise is covered in our article How to Prevent Osteoporosis.

Where are tocotrienols found?

The body cannot make tocotrienols, so it gets them only from food or supplements. Common vegetable oils contain almost none. The exceptions are palm oil (Elaeis guineensis) and rice bran oil. Crude palm oil contains 600 to 1,000 mg of tocols (forms of vitamin E) per kilogram. About 70% of them are tocotrienols and 30% tocopherols. Refining roughly halves this content.^[13]

How much tocotrienols per day, and who should avoid them

There is no official recommended daily intake or nutrient reference value for tocotrienols. The clinical studies described above used 100 to 400 mg a day.^[3][6] For comparison, 80 g of crude palm oil contains roughly 35 to 55 mg of tocotrienols.^[13] Nobody eats that much oil every day.

In 2024 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin E at 300 mg of alpha-tocopherol a day for adults. The critical risk is impaired blood clotting. The limit does not apply to people taking blood thinners or antiplatelet drugs, including aspirin.^[14] EFSA has not set a separate limit for tocotrienols.

Talk to your doctor before taking vitamin E supplements if you:

• take blood thinners or antiplatelet drugs,

• are preparing for surgery,

• are pregnant or breastfeeding,

• are being treated for high cholesterol or liver disease.

ProLife: tocotrienols from virgin palm oil

The tocotrienols in ProLife come from virgin palm oil made from the fruit of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). It is obtained by a gentle patented process and contains all four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma and delta) together with the tocopherols naturally present. Vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

ProLife also contains astaxanthin from the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis, a red carotenoid whose antioxidant activity laboratory studies have compared with other carotenoids.^[15] Why it makes sense to combine astaxanthin with full-spectrum vitamin E is explained in our article The Real Power of Antioxidants.

ProLife

Key takeaways

Sources:

[1] Suzuki YJ, Tsuchiya M, Wassall SR, Choo YM, Govil G, Kagan VE, et al. Structural and dynamic membrane properties of alpha-tocopherol and alpha-tocotrienol: implication to the molecular mechanism of their antioxidant potency. Biochemistry, 1993; 32(40): 10692–10699. https://doi.org/10.1021/bi00091a020

[2] Yoshida Y, Niki E, Noguchi N. Comparative study on the action of tocopherols and tocotrienols as antioxidant: chemical and physical effects. Chem Phys Lipids, 2003; 123(1): 63–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-3084(02)00164-0

[3] Magosso E, Ansari MA, Gopalan Y, Shuaib IL, Wong JW, Khan NA, et al. Tocotrienols for normalisation of hepatic echogenic response in nonalcoholic fatty liver: a randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial. Nutr J, 2013; 12: 166. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-12-166

[4] Pearce BC, Parker RA, Deason ME, Dischino DD, Gillespie E, Qureshi AA, et al. Inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis. 2. Hypocholesterolemic and antioxidant activities of benzopyran and tetrahydronaphthalene analogues of the tocotrienols. J Med Chem, 1994; 37(4): 526–541. https://doi.org/10.1021/jm00030a012

[5] Baliarsingh S, Beg ZH, Ahmad J. The therapeutic impacts of tocotrienols in type 2 diabetic patients with hyperlipidemia. Atherosclerosis, 2005; 182(2): 367–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2005.02.020

[6] Beoy LA, Woei WJ, Hay YK. Effects of tocotrienol supplementation on hair growth in human volunteers. Trop Life Sci Res, 2010; 21(2): 91–99. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24575202/

[7] Traber MG, Podda M, Weber C, Thiele J, Rallis M, Packer L. Diet-derived and topically applied tocotrienols accumulate in skin and protect the tissue against ultraviolet light-induced oxidative stress. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 1997; 6(1): 63–67. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24394657/

[8] Sen CK, Khanna S, Roy S. Tocotrienol: the natural vitamin E to defend the nervous system? Ann N Y Acad Sci, 2004; 1031: 127–142. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1331.013

[9] Fukui K, Sekiguchi H, Takatsu H, Koike T, Koike T, Urano S. Tocotrienol prevents AAPH-induced neurite degeneration in neuro2a cells. Redox Rep, 2013; 18(6): 238–244. https://doi.org/10.1179/1351000213Y.0000000065

[10] Fukui K, Takatsu H, Koike T, Urano S. Hydrogen peroxide induces neurite degeneration: prevention by tocotrienols. Free Radic Res, 2011; 45(6): 681–691. https://doi.org/10.3109/10715762.2011.567984

[11] Fukui K, Ushiki K, Takatsu H, Koike T, Urano S. Tocotrienols prevent hydrogen peroxide-induced axon and dendrite degeneration in cerebellar granule cells. Free Radic Res, 2012; 46(2): 184–193. https://doi.org/10.3109/10715762.2011.647689

[12] Chin KY, Mo H, Soelaiman IN. A review of the possible mechanisms of action of tocotrienol, a potential antiosteoporotic agent. Curr Drug Targets, 2013; 14(13): 1533–1541. https://doi.org/10.2174/13894501113149990178

[13] Sundram K, Sambanthamurthi R, Tan YA. Palm fruit chemistry and nutrition. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2003; 12(3): 355–362. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14506001/

[14] EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA). Scientific opinion on the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin E. EFSA Journal, 2024; 22(8): e8953. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8953

[15] Naguib YM. Antioxidant activities of astaxanthin and related carotenoids. J Agric Food Chem, 2000; 48(4): 1150–1154. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf991106k