Chewable Tablets Containing Palm-based Vitamin E (Tocotrienol Rich Fraction, TRF) – A Preliminary Stability Study
Vitamin E (tocochromanols) comprises four tocopherol and four tocotrienol isomers, namely alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ) and delta (δ) (Brigelius-Flohé and Traber, 1999), and is an essential nutrient for the human body. Palm oil is one of the richest sources of vitamin E (800-1200 ppm) (Kushairi et al., 2018). Palm-based vitamin E comprises of about 49%-53% γ-tocotrienol, 22%-34% α-tocotrienol, 6%-7% δ-toco-trienol, 14%-17% α-tocopherol and 3% α-tocomonoenol (Puah et al., 2007). As it is very rich in tocotrienols, palm-based vitamin E is also known as the tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF). Palm-based vitamin E possesses unique and potent healthenhancing properties such as antioxidative (Cerecetto and López, 2007), cardioprotective (Heng et al., 2013), neuroprotective (Sen et al., 2000), anti-cancer and cancer-suppressing (Wong and Radhakrishnan, 2012), as well as neurological and brain development (Traber, 2014) effects. It has also been found to lower blood cholesterol levels (Qureshi et al., 1995).