Methods for efficient analysis of tocopherols, tocotrienols and their metabolites in animal samples with HPLC-EC

Tocopherols and tocotrienols, collectively known as vitamin E, have received a great deal of attention because of their interesting biological activities. In the present study, we reexamined and improved previous methods of sample preparation and the conditions of high-performance liquid chromatography for more accurate quantification of tocopherols, tocotrienols and their major chain-degradation metabolites. For the analysis of serum tocopherols/tocotrienols, we reconfirmed our method of mixing serum with ethanol followed by hexane extraction. For the analysis of tissue samples, we improved our methods by extracting tocopherols/tocotrienols directly from tissue homogenate with hexane. For the analysis of total amounts (conjugated and unconjugated forms) of side-chain degradation metabolites, the samples need to be deconjugated by incubating with β-glucuronidase and sulfatase; serum samples can be directly used for the incubation, whereas for tissue homogenates a pre-deproteination step is needed. The present methods are sensitive, convenient and are suitable for the determination of different forms of vitamin E and their metabolites in animal and human studies. Results from the analysis of serum, liver, kidney, lung and urine samples from mice that had been treated with mixtures of tocotrienols and tocopherols are presented as examples.