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Vitamin E bioavailability from fortified breakfast cereal is greater than that from encapsulated supplements^1,2,3

¹ From the Linus Pauling Institute (SWL and MGT) and the Department of Nutrition & Food Management (MGT), Oregon State University, Corvallis, and the Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition, General Mills, Inc, Minneapolis (CKG and ETG).

Background: Conflicting results from vitamin E intervention studies suggest supplemental vitamin E malabsorption.

Objective: We compared vitamin E bioavailability from a supplement with that from a fortified breakfast cereal.

Design: Vitamin E bioavailability was evaluated by using deuterium-labeled all-rac--tocopherol in three 4-d trials (2 wk apart). Five fasting subjects sequentially consumed the following (with 236 mL fat-free milk): 400 IU d₉--tocopheryl acetate (400-IU capsule), 41 g ready-to-eat wheat cereal containing 30 IU d₉--tocopheryl acetate (30-IU cereal), and 45 g cereal containing 400 IU d₉--tocopheryl acetate (400-IU cereal). Five months later (trial 4), they consumed a 400-IU capsule with 41 g vitamin E–free cereal. Blood was obtained up to 72 h after the start of each trial.

Results: The mean (±SD) vitamin E bioavailabilities of the 30-IU cereal and the 400-IU cereal were 6 ± 2 and 26 ± 8 times, respectively, the vitamin E bioavailability of the 400-IU capsule. The areas under the 0–72-h d₉--tocopherol curves for the 400-IU capsule, the 30-IU cereal, and the 400-IU cereal were 30 ± 7, 153 ± 43, and 765 ± 164 µmol · h/L (all trial comparisons, P < 0.0001). In trial 4, 3 subjects barely responded and 2 subjects had areas under the curve that were similar to their 400-IU cereal responses.

Conclusion: The low bioavailability of vitamin E from the 400-IU capsule and the variability observed when the capsule was consumed with cereal suggest that encapsulated vitamin E is poorly absorbed when consumed with a low-fat meal and that bioavailability can be enhanced by food fortification with vitamin E.

Key Words: Tocopherol • low-fat meal • clinical trial • mass spectrometry • vitamin E bioavailability • supplements

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