Annatto Tocotrienols

Tocotrienols are the newer half of the vitamin E story. As with any vitamin E product, our naturopaths start by asking about dose and medicines.

A good fit if

• You want to try the tocotrienol branch of vitamin E specifically, not a tocopherol blend
• You're interested in the HDL and triglyceride research, not a cholesterol-lowering claim
• You eat little palm oil, rice bran oil or food made with annatto

Check with us first if

• You take warfarin or another blood thinner. Vitamin E works against vitamin K-dependent clotting factors and reduces how platelets clump, with effects seen from 300 mg a day, well within the doses used in tocotrienol trials.
• You take a statin with niacin. Antioxidant combinations that included vitamin E reduced the HDL-raising effect of that treatment, which matters because people take tocotrienols for HDL.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. No adequate intake, upper level or TGA advisory has been set for tocotrienols specifically.
• You take prescription medicines. Check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.

• Tocotrienols. Best known for: The unsaturated branch of vitamin E, from palm, rice bran or annatto rather than vegetable oil. Absorption: Absorbed and spread through the body by a different pathway from tocopherols; we found no head-to-head human comparison. Typical use: Chosen as a separate product for its effect on HDL and triglycerides, most consistent at 200 mg a day or more in shorter trials.
• Natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol). Best known for: The single form your liver holds onto best, extracted from vegetable oil. Absorption: About twice the activity of synthetic, weight for weight. 1 mg is 1.49 IU. Typical use: Single-ingredient capsules, where activity per milligram is what matters.
• Synthetic vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopherol). Best known for: A mixture of eight forms made industrially, only one of which matches natural vitamin E. Absorption: About half the activity of natural, weight for weight. 1 mg is 2.22 IU. Typical use: Most multivitamins and many other products. It's the form tested in the SELECT trial, where 400 IU a day was linked to 17 per cent more prostate cancer, so that finding belongs to synthetic vitamin E, not to tocotrienols.
• Mixed tocopherols. Best known for: Beta, gamma and delta-tocopherol alongside alpha, closer to how vitamin E occurs in whole food. Absorption: We have no human study comparing it directly with single-form alpha-tocopherol. Typical use: For people who want the gamma form as well as alpha, alongside their vitamin E rather than instead of it.

Reference values. Australia doesn't set an adequate intake for tocotrienols specifically. The adequate intake for vitamin E overall is 10 mg a day for men and 7 mg for women, as alpha-tocopherol equivalents, but tocotrienols don't count toward that figure.

Typical supplemental range. The trials we reviewed used 80 to 600 mg a day, with clearer HDL and triglyceride effects at 200 mg a day or more over shorter trials. Products are usually labelled by total tocotrienol content, not as alpha-tocopherol equivalents.

Upper level. There's no upper level for tocotrienols in Australia. The adult upper level for vitamin E overall, 300 mg a day of alpha-tocopherol equivalents, doesn't apply to a tocotrienol product.

Worth knowing. It's fat-soluble, so take it with a meal that contains some fat. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Palm oil: the main commercial tocotrienol source; no gram figure is held in this register
• Rice bran oil: A secondary source; amount not quantified in this register
• Annatto seed (achiote): the other named source; amount not quantified in this register

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• You take warfarin or another blood thinner. Vitamin E works against vitamin K-dependent clotting factors and reduces platelet clumping, with effects seen from 300 mg a day, which is within the doses used in tocotrienol trials.
• You take a statin with niacin. Antioxidant combinations including vitamin E blunted the rise in HDL, which matters because tocotrienols are taken for HDL.
• You're having chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Antioxidant supplements may make treatment less effective, so your oncology team needs to agree first.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. There's no adequate intake, upper level or TGA advice set for tocotrienols specifically.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.