Antioxidant Vitamin In Anti-Aging Creams -

Vitamin E (Tocopherol) And Vitamin E Derivatives

• tocopherol (α-, β-, γ-, and δ-tocopherols)
  • tocopherol acetate
  • tocopherol sorbate
• Tocotrienols (α-, β-, γ-, and δ-tocopherols)

Vitamin E is a generic term for tocopherols and tocotrienols. Vitamin E is a family of α-, β-, γ-, and δ-tocopherols and four corresponding tocotrienols alpha, beta, gamma, delta). Of these, α-tocopherol (alpha-tocopherol) has been most studied as it has the highest bioavailability.

Vitamin E is considered as an antioxidant superstar. Vitamin E is a lipid-soluble (fat-soluble) vitamin that has eight different forms, of which some are known for being excellent antioxidants when applied topically to skin, particularly alpha tocopherol and the tocotrienols. It has been claimed that α-tocopherol is the most important lipid-soluble antioxidant, and that it protects cell membranes from oxidation by reacting with lipid radicals produced in the lipid peroxidation chain reaction. The oxidised α-tocopheroxyl radicals produced in this process may be recycled back to the active reduced form through reduction by other antioxidants, such as ascorbate, retinol or ubiquinol

However, other studies have indicated the acetate form (tocopherol acetate) is also bioavailable and protective for skin, and still other research points to tocopherol sorbate (sorbic acid is a 6 C unsaturated fatty acid) as providing significant antioxidant protection against ultraviolet radiation–induced oxidative damage.

Tocotrienols are the superpotent forms of vitamin E that are considered stable and powerful antioxidants. Compared with tocopherols, tocotrienols are poorly studied. There is some research showing that tocotrienols are more potent than other forms of vitamin E for antioxidant activity. Tocotrienol research in humans is very limited, and the results were conflicting. The research that has been done has centered on large doses of oral tocotrienols, animal studies, or test-tube trials. Companies that want you to believe that tocotrienols are now the answer for your skin are only guessing whether or not the laboratory evidence translates to human skin as it exists in the real world. Full-scale clinical studies on humans to assess the benefits of topical tocotrienols have not yet been performed, so for now (as is true for all antioxidants).