Alpha-tocopheryl phosphate: a novel, natural form of vitamin E

Free Radic Biol Med. 2005 Oct 1;39(7):970-6. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2005.05.016.

Abstract

We have detected alpha-tocopheryl phosphate in biological tissues including liver and adipose tissue, as well as in a variety of foods, suggesting a ubiquitous presence in animal and plant tissue. Alpha-tocopheryl phosphate is a water-soluble molecule that is resistant to both acid and alkaline hydrolysis, making it undetectable using standard assays for vitamin E. A new method was therefore developed to allow the extraction of both alpha-tocopheryl phosphate and alpha-tocopherol from a single specimen. We used ESMS to detect endogenous alpha-tocopheryl phosphate in biological samples that also contained alpha-tocopherol. Due to the significance of these findings, further proof was required to unequivocally demonstrate the presence of endogenous alpha-tocopheryl phosphate in biological samples. Four independent methods of analysis were examined: HPLC, LCMS, LCMS/MS, and GCMS. Alpha-tocopherol phosphate was identified in all instances by comparison between standard alpha-tocopheryl phosphate and extracts of biological tissues. The results show that alpha-tocopheryl phosphate is a natural form of vitamin E. The discovery of endogenous alpha-tocopheryl phosphate has implications for the expanding knowledge of the roles of alpha-tocopherol in biological systems.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adipose Tissue / cytology
  • Adipose Tissue / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Chromatography, Liquid / methods
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Male
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
  • Vitamin E / isolation & purification*
  • alpha-Tocopherol / analogs & derivatives*
  • alpha-Tocopherol / isolation & purification
  • alpha-Tocopherol / metabolism

Substances

  • Vitamin E
  • alpha-tocopherol phosphate
  • alpha-Tocopherol