Human oral bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of tocotrienols from tocotrienol-rich (tocopherol-low) barley oil and palm oil formulations

Abstract Tocotrienols are members of the vitamin E family thought to have hypocholesterolaemic, anti-cancer, and neuroprotective properties. We compared the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of a single oral dose of 450 mg total tocotrienols from α-tocotrienol-rich barley oil and γ-tocotrienol-rich palm oil (both also low in tocopherols) in seven healthy male human subjects 0–24 h post-dose. The maximum α-tocotrienol plasma concentration (22.57 ± 2.84 mg/L, 2.1 ± 0.3 h) was significantly ( p p p