Group: Acids, Antioxidants, Mineral salts
Description: Vitamin E, known as the anti-sterility vitamin - from the Greek tokos (child) and pherein (bear), is fat-soluble and is a mixture of alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta- tocopherols. Although eight chemically similar substances have Vitamin E activity, alpha-tocopherol is the most active of these with 100%, followed by beta- (15-40%), gamma- (1-20% then delta (1%). Found in most foods, it is abundant in, amongst other things, whole grain cereals, corn and cottonseed oils, egg yolks, meat and milk.
e306 a greater antioxidant effect than gamma-tocopherol (E308) in animals but not in cells or non-biological matter. It also protects other nutrients, such as Vitamin A, from oxidation but is largely destroyed by freezing.
Commercially it can be extracted, by distillation in a vacuum, from cottonseed, maize, rice germ, soya been oil, wheat germ, or green leaves and may, therefore, come from Genetically Modified sources.
Animal Origin: No
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