• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.128-134
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• 1988

The effect of the saponin fraction extracted from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer on the antioxidant activity of $\alpha$-tocopherol was investigated in vitro as well as in vivo. Microsomal preparation of rat(Winter, 180-200g) liver was incubated in the mixture containing NADPH, $Fe^{3+}$, ATP, $\alpha$-tocopherol with and/or without ginseng saponin fraction for 30 minutes and the malondialdehyde formed was assayed and found that the saponin fraction stimulated the antioxidant activity of $\alpha$-tocopherol cooperatively. It was also realized that the cooperative stimulation of the antioxidant activity of $\alpha$-tocopherol was most eminent when the concentration of the saponin fraction was around $10^{-5}$% in the reaction mixture. Alcoholic suspension of $\alpha$-tocopherol with and f or without ginseng saponin fraction was administered orally to rats in which the lipid preoccupation was induced by ethanol administration and the lipid peroxide contents of the liver were assayed at certain periods of time after $\alpha$-tocopherol administration in this animal. From the previous work and present experimental results, it seemed that the saponin fraction accelerated the absorption of $\alpha$-tocopherol and therefore stimulated the antioxidant activity of $\alpha$-tocopherol more effectively in the animal body.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.553-557
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to establish an extraction and analysis method for $\alpha$-tocopherol, and to then distinguish among varieties. The $\alpha$-tocopherol contents of 22 varieties of peanut seeds were analyzed by HPLC. Peanut seeds of cv. Palkwang were processed in two ways, by boiling and roasting. The $\alpha$-tocopherol contents of the two types of peanuts were compared with fresh seeds without any processing. $\alpha$-Tocopherol was detected at a retention time of 2.95 minutes. Five standards of $\alpha$-tocopherol covering a range of $20{\sim}100{\mu}g/ml$ were made up in 2% isopropyl alcohol/n-hexane and analyzed in duplicate. The $\alpha$-tocopherol contents differed according to extraction temperature. The contents were $85{\mu}g/g$ or less at $10^{\circ}C\;and\;20^{\circ}C$ and $94{\mu}g/g$ at $30^{\circ}C$, but they were decreased at $40^{\circ}C$ or higher. The $\alpha$-tocopherol contents in 22 peanut varieties were $61.36{\sim}96.80{\mu}g/g$ according to variety. Fresh peanuts contained $106.7{\mu}g/g$ of $\alpha$-tocopherol, while boiled peanuts contained $108.8{\mu}g/g$ of $\alpha$-tocopherol, and roasted peanuts contained $109.2{\mu}g/g$ of $\alpha$-tocopherol.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1984.09a
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• pp.113-118
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• 1984

The effect of the saponin fraction extracted from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer on the antioxidant activity of ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ was investigated in vitro as well as in vivo. Microsomal preparation of albino rat (Sprague-Dawley, 180-200g) was incubated in the mixture containing NADPH, $Fe^{3+},$ ATP, ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ with and/or without ginseng saponin fraction for 30 minutes and the malondialdehyde formed was assayed and found that the saponin fraction stimulated the antioxidant activity of ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ cooperatively. It was also realized that the cooperative stimulation of the antioxidant activity of ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ was most eminent when the concentration of the saponin fraction was around $10^{-5}\%$ in the reaction mixture. Alcoholic suspension of ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ with and/or without ginseng saponin fraction was administered orally to rats in which the lipid peroxidation was induced by ethanol administration and the lipid peroxide contents of the liver were assayed at certain periods of time after ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ administration in this animal. It was reported that the saponin fraction stimulated the absorption of ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ in rats and this was confirmed again in the present work. From the previous work and present experimental results, it seemed that the saponin fraction accelerated the absorption of ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ and therefore stimulated the antioxidant activity of ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ more effectively in the animal body.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.295-299
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• 2004

Alpha-tocopherol was thermally oxidized and degraded at high temperatures and the resulting products were chromatographically separated and identified by LC-MS. Alpha-tocopherol dissolved in glycerol was heated at 200^{\circ}C for 30 min. The thermal products were separated by hexane extraction and analyzed by HPLC using a reversed phase $\mu$-Bondapak $C_{18}-column$ with two kinds of elution solvents: a mixture of acetonitrile and methanol (3:2), and of acetonitrile, methanol, 2-propanol, chloroform and methylene chloride (3:2:5:0.5:0.5) in a gradient mode. The isolated thermal. products of alpha-tocopherol were more viscous than alpha-tocopherol, and dark brown in color. Major thermal degradation products of alpha-tocopherol were identified by LC-MS, and the structures of thermal products were proposed. Alpha-tocopherol and its thermal degradation products were degraded into fragments, mainly at the non-aromatic parts. The degradation products of alpha-tocopherol. were combined with oxidized product (tocopherylquinone) to make thermal. products through dimerization.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.108-114
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• 1990

The concentrations of $\alpha$-tocopherol in the brain, liver, and serum were studied with and without saponification process between control and vitamin E supplemented rats. Young rats, 80-120g body weight, were fed control and vitamin E supplemented diets, ad libitum, for four weeks. $\alpha$-Tocopherol concentrations were determined by high pressure liquid chromatography. The $\alpha$-tocopherol concentration per wet weight base in the brain tissue was significantly lower than that in the liver. Vitamin E supplementation had no effect on brain $\alpha$-tocopherol levels in contrast to the significant increase in lover $\alpha$-tocopherol concentration with and without saponification is significantly greater in the brain than in the liver or serum. Further study is needed to clarify the nature of interaction or /and binding between $\alpha$-tocopherol and the complex membrane system in brain tissue. It can be speculated from this and other studies that the metabolism and the nature of interaction of $\alpha$-tocopherol with the complex membrane system in brain tissue rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids seems different from that in liver tissue or serum.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.224-231
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• 1982

${\alpha}-Tocopherol$ was found to be a fluorescent probe in determination of the phasetransition temperature of liposome. Since this was a discovery of a new aspect of ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ as an important biochemical molecule, its molecular spectroscopic characterization was carried out in order to obtain some informations on its spectral and, structural properties in various media, anticipating that the compound may entertain a wide applications in biochemical systems as a spectroscopic probe. Two species of α${\alpha}-tocopherol$, monomer and dimer, were found to exist in organic media, especially in solvents of nonhydrogen bonding ability. Monomer with maximum UV-absorption around $(291{\sim}294nm)$ is highly fluorescent, while dimer which is formed by intermolecular hydrogen bonds and absorbes with spectral peak at 298nm is nonfluorescent. ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ incorporated to liposome exhibits emission property quite different from that in various organic media showing broad and red-shifted fluorescence excitation and emission spectra. This spectral abnormality is to be interpreted to arise from chromanolate-type ion, H-dissociated ${\alpha}-tocopherol$.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 1998

An acute ethanol load(50mmol/kg , i.p) resulted in an increase in peroxidation and a decrease in the levels of $\alpha$-tocopherol and ascorbate in rat cerebellum. Pretreatement with allopurinol(146$\mu$mol/kg, i.p) prevented the ethnol-induced increment in lipid peroxidation and decrease in $\alpha$-tocopherol content. However, the decrease of ascorbate was of greater magnitude when allopurinol was associated with ethanol. These results suggested that allopurinol. besides its action as a radical scavenger and xanthine oxidase inhibitor, might favor the regeneration of $\alpha$-tocopherol antioxidant acitviity was studied using ${\gamma}$-radiolysis in aerated ethanolic solutions. Even though allopurinol did not react by itself with $\alpha$-hydroxyethyl-peroxyl radicals [H3C-CH(OH)OO] , it enhance the $\alpha$-hydroxyethyl-peroxyl radical scavenging properties of $\alpha$tocopherol. The regeneration of $\alpha$-tocopherol from the $\alpha$-hydroxyethyl-peroxyl radical scavenging properties of $\alpha$-tocophero. The regeneration of $\alpha$-tocopherol from the $\alpha$-tocopherol radical by ascorbate remained as efficient in the presence of allopurinol as in its absence. The effects of allopurinol on the Vitamin E oxidation-reduction mechanism could be involoved in the beneficial effectof allopurinol on the biological cellular damages linked to free radical reactions.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.773-785
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• 2006

Vitamin E in the body system plays an important role in preventing chronic diseases by decreasing the oxidative stress by free-radicals. However, there are not enough researches on analyzing the primary factors affecting vitamin E levels in the blood in Korean adults. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine blood tocopherol levels and the primary factors affecting the status. A complete lifestyle survey was performed on 314 Korean adult men and surveyed their smoking, drinking and exercising habits. The average plasma level of ${\alpha}-\;and\;{\gamma}-tocopherol$ showed similar mutual relations with plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), or low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (p<0.001). Plasma ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ level of the subjects did not show any difference as smoking, drinking and exercising habits changed. However, ${\gamma}-tocopherol$ per TG showed much lower figure in smokers than non smokers (p < 0.05). Amongst diet factors, plasma ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ level showed negative correlations with Vitamin E intake, while ${\gamma}-tocopherol$ level showed positive correlations with Vitamin E intake. Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and plasma tocopherol showed negative correlations, and catalase activity and plasma ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ showed positive correlationship. The level of cell DNA damage of Iymphocyte and plasma ${\alpha}-\;or\;{\gamma}-tocopherol$ showed negative correlations. As a result of this research, the factors that affect Korean adult men's plasma ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ level are plasma TG, LDL-C and cell DNA damage in Iymphocyte, while the factors that affect ${\gamma}-tocopherol$ level are plasma TG, LDL-C and vitamin E intake based on multiple regression analysis. These findings implies that the level of different types of tocopherol depends on slightly different factors. A further research is needed on the factors involved in the differentiation of the types of tocopherol.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.129-136
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different levels of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol and selenium in broiler diets on performance and physicochemical properties of chicken thigh meat. A total of 360 broiler chicks divided into six groups were fed a basal diet (control) or basal diet supplemented with 50 IU ${\alpha}$-tocopherol/kg (T1), 100 IU ${\alpha}$-tocopherol/kg (T2), 200IU ${\alpha}$-tocopherol/kg (T3), 0.3 ppm selenium/kg (T4), and 100 IU ${\alpha}$-tocopherol/kg + 0.3 ppm selenium/kg (T5) for five weeks. Growth performance and proximate composition of chicken thigh meat were not influenced by all dietary treatments, except for crude fat, which was significantly lower in the treatment with ${\alpha}$-tocopherol or selenium, or both compared to control. The dietary ${\alpha}$-tocopherol and selenium supplementation had no significant effects on pH, CIE $L^*$ (lightness), and $b^*$ (yellowness) values but TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substance) values were decreased (P<0.05) by the addition of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol and selenium. CIE $a^*$ (redness) values increased significantly with added ${\alpha}$-tocopherol and selenium relative to the control (P<0.05). Likewise, changes in fatty acid composition in chicken thigh meat with the dietary supplementations with ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, selenium and their combination significantly increased (P<0.05) unsaturated fatty acid, whereas saturated fatty acid were decreased. It was concluded that the addition of 200 IU ${\alpha}$-tocopherol (T3) and 100 IU of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol plus 0.3 ppm selenium (T5) were most effectiveness in the improvements in the lipid oxidative stability of chicken meat when compared to the control.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2011

Tocopherols belong to the plant-derived poly phenolic compounds known for antioxidant functions in plants and animals. Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) is a common reaction of plant cells in defense-related signal transduction pathways. We report a novel non-antioxidant function of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol in higher plants linking the physiological role of tocopherol with stress signalling pathways. Pre-incubation of a low concentration of $50{\mu}M$ ${\alpha}$-tocopherol negatively interferes with MAPK activation in elicitor-treated tobacco BY2 suspension culture cells and wounded tobacco leaves, whereas pre-incubated BY2 cells with ${\alpha}$-tocopherol phosphate did not show the inhibitory effect on stimuli-induced MAPK activation. The decreased MAPK activity was neither due to a direct inhibitory effect of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol nor due to the induction of an inhibitory or inactivating activity directly affecting MAPK activity. The data support that the target of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol negatively regulates an upstream component of the signaling pathways that leads to stress dependent MAPK activation.