Pharmacology of Vitamin E

The mechanisms for the preferential α‐tocopherol retention in the human body fall under the usual pharmacologic categories of absorption, disposition, metabolism and catabolism and excretion (ADME). Kinetic studies using α‐tocopherol labelled with either radioactive or stable isotopes have been instrumental in our understanding of vitamin E trafficking and status. Additionally, different types of mathematical modelling have yielded novel information. Therefore, I will address each of these topics, what is currently known and not known, emphasizing what has been recently discovered and how the various mechanisms impact clinical disorders.