β-Tocotrienol

Tocotrienols and tocopherols are lipid‐soluble chemicals that make up vitamin E. Vitamin E can be subcategorized as (α‐tocopherol, β‐tocopherol, γ‐tocopherol, and δ‐tocopherol) and four primary tocotrienols (α‐tocotrienol, β‐tocotrienol, γ‐tocotrienol, δ‐tocotrienol). Tocotrienols receive less recognition for their effects on health compared to their counterparts, tocopherols. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of a powdered, sublingual form of DT3 in healthy men and women. We hypothesized that there would be an increase in plasma DT3 followed by a decrease after reaching peak concentration over an 8‐hour period. Volunteers (m=1, f=4; age: 36.6 +/‐ 10 years, 169 +/‐ 6 cm, 77 +/‐ 14.6 kg) were administered a 40mg of DT3 powder after fasting for 8 hours and given a meal consisting of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats after 4 hours. Volunteers were asked to keep the powder under their tongues for 30 seconds or until the powder was completely dissolved. Blood samples were collected at 0, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, 360, and 480 minutes. Blood samples collected were placed in the centrifuge to separate plasma from blood. The plasma collected was stored at ‐80°F in a cryogenic freezer. DT3 concentrations were measured from plasma using protein precipitation followed by liquid‐liquid extraction. Analytes were separated by HPLC with the extracts assayed against a calibration curve. DT3 bioavailability was assessed using the parameters of peak plasma concentration (Cmax), time to reach peak plasma concentration (Tmax) and total area under the plasma concentration‐time curve (AUC). Plasma concentration of DT3 reached 47.1 ng/ml (Cmax) 360 minutes after administration (Tmax). DT3 concentration decreased between 360 and 480 minutes. The 0‐8 h AUC reached 10,093 ng/ml*min. Ingesting a 40mg dose of DT3 dissolved orally and then swallowed appears to produce a slow progressive upward absorption trend over the time span of 6 hours after. Following the 6‐hour increase in DT3 concentration a subsequent decrease in plasma DT3 was observed. Optimal dosing and timing of DT3 when dissolved in the mouth may enhance the efficacy of δ‐tocotrienols on health.