Tocotrienols as well as tocopherols are homologues of vitamin E. Vitamin E is a fatsoluble natural antioxidant and present in small amount in vegetable oils and fats. The importance of vitamin E, an essential vitamin, for keeping the good health in animals and human has long been recognized. Deficiency of vitamin E in animals would lead to complications, such as foetal resorption and muscular dystrophy. Although α-tocopherol is the most active form of vitamin E in terms of foetal resorption tests, it is interesting to note that progress on research over the last few years indicates that tocotrienols form of vitamin E are superior than α-tocopherol in activities such as hypocholesterolemic and anti-cancer effects. In order to harness the full benefits of tocotrienols, there is a need for tocotrienols preparation with minimal amount of tocopherols in it. Almost all current tocotrienols preparations in the market contain tocopherols, for instance Palm Vitamin E, a tocotrienols-rich fraction (TRF) is a mixture of tocotrienols and tocopherols at a typical ratio of 75 to 25. A process for preparing tocotrienols-enhanced fraction (TEF) products with a ratio of tocotrienols to tocopherols more than 90:10 is presented.

Main Research: Abd Gapor Md Top