Pharmacology of Vitamin E

The mechanisms for the preferential α-tocopherol retention in the human body fall under the usual pharmacologic categories of absorption, disposition, metabolism and catabolism and excretion (ADME). Kinetic studies using α-tocopherol labelled with either radioactive or stable isotopes have been instrumental in our understanding of vitamin E trafficking and status. Additionally, different types of mathematical modelling have yielded novel information. Therefore, I will address each of these topics, what is currently known and not known, emphasizing what has been recently discovered and how the various mechanisms impact clinical disorders.