title: Vitamin E biotransformation in humans.
abstract: The presence and activity of vitamin E in the organism as well as its role in disease prevention depend, as for any other microconstituent in food, on a number of factors related to its release from the food matrix, extent of absorption, and metabolic fate. Biotransformation can be defined as the sum of processes in which vitamin E compounds are altered by the body. It involves the bioactivation and production of reactive metabolites, a series of processes generally referred to as "vitamin E metabolism." This chapter will provide an overview of the known and less known steps of vitamin E biotransformation in humans. Due to recent advances related to the biological activities and metabolic processing of vitamin E compounds, particular attention will be given to the description of the formation, identification, and functions of vitamin E metabolites. The hypothesis of a transformation-dependent bioactivation of vitamin E represents an intriguing and emerging aspect of research that deserves further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Applied Biochemistry and Nutritional Sciences, University of Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: M Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Polidori
authors.forename: Wilhelm
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mecocci
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D001711:Biotransformation; D006801:Humans; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D014810:Vitamin E