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Tocopherols (TCP) are a class of organic chemical compounds (more precisely, various methylated phenols), many of which have vitamin E activity. Because the vitamin activity was first identified in 1936 from a dietary fertility factor in rats, it was given the name "tocopherol" from the Greek words "τόκος" (HREF="http://www.kotoba.ne.jp/word/11/," TITLE=",">, birth ), and "φέρειν", (to bear or carry ) meaning in sum "to carry a pregnancy," with the ending "-ol" signifying its status as a chemical alcohol. α-Tocopherol is the main source found in supplements and in the European diet, where the main dietary sources are olive and sunflower oils, while γ-tocopherol is the most common form in the American diet due to a higher intake of soybean and corn oil.〔〔 Tocotrienols, which are related compounds, also have vitamin E activity. All of these various derivatives with vitamin activity may correctly be referred to as "vitamin E". Tocopherols and tocotrienols are fat-soluble antioxidants but also seem to have many other functions in the body. ==Forms== Vitamin E exists in eight different forms, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. All feature a chromane ring, with a hydroxyl group that can donate a hydrogen atom to reduce free radicals and a hydrophobic side chain which allows for penetration into biological membranes. Both the tocopherols and tocotrienols occur in α (alpha), β (beta), γ (gamma) and δ (delta) forms, determined by the number and position of methyl groups on the chromanol ring. The tocotrienols have the same methyl structure at the ring and the same Greek letter-methyl-notation, but differ from the analogous tocopherols by the presence of three double bonds in the hydrophobic side chain. The unsaturation of the tails gives tocotrienols only a single stereoisomeric carbon (and thus two possible isomers per structural formula, one of which occurs naturally), whereas tocopherols have 3 centers (and eight possible stereoisomers per structural formula, again, only one of which occurs naturally). Each form has a different biological activity.〔http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/Y2809E/y2809e0f.htm Summary of the role of vitamin E in human metabolic processes〕 In general, the unnatural l-isomers of tocotrienols lack almost all vitamin activity, and half of the possible 8 isomers of the tocopherols (those with 2S chirality at the ring-tail junction) also lack vitamin activity. Of the stereoisomers which retain activity, increasing methylation, especially full methylation to the alpha-form, increases vitamin activity. In tocopherols, this is due to the preference of the tocophrol binding protein for the alpha-tocopherol form of the vitamin. As a food additive, tocopherol is labeled with these E numbers: E306 (tocopherol), E307 (α-tocopherol), E308 (γ-tocopherol), and E309 (δ-tocopherol). These are all approved in the USA,〔US Food and Drug Administration: (【引用サイトリンク】title=Listing of Food Additives Status Part II )〕 EU〔UK Food Standards Agency: (【引用サイトリンク】title=Current EU approved additives and their E Numbers )〕 and Australia and New Zealand〔Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code(【引用サイトリンク】title=Standard 1.2.4 - Labelling of ingredients )〕 for use as antioxidants. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「tocopherol」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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