Extraction of Vitamin E Isomers from Palm Oil: Methodology, Characterization, and in Vitro Anti-Tumor Activity

Vitamin E in the management of pancreatic cancer: A scoping review

Pancreatic cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Research investigating effective management strategies for pancreatic cancer is ongoing. Vitamin E, consisting of both tocopherol and tocotrienol, has demonstrated debatable effects on pancreatic cancer cells. Therefore, this scoping review aims to summarize the effects of vitamin E on pancreatic cancer. In October 2022, a literature search was conducted using PubMed and Scopus since their inception. Original studies on the effects of vitamin E on pancreatic cancer, including cell cultures, animal models and human clinical trials, were considered for this review. The literature search found 75 articles on this topic, but only 24 articles met the inclusion criteria. The available evidence showed that vitamin E modulated proliferation, cell death, angiogenesis, metastasis and inflammation in pancreatic cancer cells. However, the safety and bioavailability concerns remain to be answered with more extensive preclinical and clinical studies. More in-depth analysis is necessary to investigate further the role of vitamin E in the management of pancreatic cancers.

Extraction of oil, carotenes and tocochromanols from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fruit with subcritical propane

This work aims to screen the extraction of oil and bioactive compounds including carotenes and tocochromanols from oil palm fruit with subcritical propane and without using a cosolvent. The overall extraction curves of palm oil with subcritical propane were studied and compared to those extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide. Carotenes and tocochromanols were evaluated not only in the extracted oil, but also in the oil of residual fiber in order to calculate the efficiency to recover these valuable compounds. The experimental results showed that oil yield of up to 70 % could be obtained within 120 minutes with subcritical propane at 50 bar and a flow rate of 35 kg·h−1·kg−1. It was also shown that compressed propane is an excellent solvent for the extraction of oil enriched in carotenes and tocochromanols. Subcritical propane extraction can be used as an alternative process for the simultaneous recovery of these valuable minor components from palm fruit.

Development and evaluation of paclitaxel nanoemulsion for cancer therapy

Tocosol™ is a tocopherol-based paclitaxel (PTX) nanoemulsion consisting of α-tocopherol (α-T) isomer of vitamin E as a solubilizer and vitamin E TPGS as the primary emulsifier. Despite its positive attributes in early clinical studies, it failed the pivotal phase III clinical trials. The long-term goal of this work was to reformulate Tocosol™. In this study, Tocosol™ formulation was optimized by replacing the α-T isomer with the more pharmacological active isomer γ-tocotrienol (γ-T₃), and the surfactant vitamin E TPGS was replaced with in-house designed PEGylated γ-T₃ surfactant. The reformulated paclitaxel γ-T₃/PEGylated γ-T₃ -based nanoemulsion was significantly more active against pancreatic tumor cell lines than α-T/Vitamin E TPGS based formulation (IC₅₀ = 0.5 μM and 1.1 μM, respectively). Furthermore, the reformulated product showed an average size of 220 ± 6 nm with surface charge equal to -42 ± 2 mV. The optimized product was physically and chemically stable over 6 months per ICH storage condition guidelines.

Palm Oil in Lipid-Based Formulations and Drug Delivery Systems

Palm oil is natural oil packed with important compounds and fatty acids ready to be exploited in lipid-based formulations and drug delivery. Palm oil and palm kernel oil contain long-chain and medium-chain triglycerides, respectively, including phytonutrients such as tocotrienol, tocopherol and carotenes. The exploitation of these compounds in a lipid-based formulation would be able to address hydrophobicity, lipophilicity, poor bioavailability and low water-solubility of many current drugs. The utilisation of palm oil as part of the drug delivery system seemed to improve the bioavailability and solubility of the drug, stabilising emulsification of formulation between emulsifier and surfactant, promoting enhanced drug permeability and performance, as well as extending the shelf-life of the drug. Despite the complexity in designing lipid-based formulations, palm oil has proven to offer dynamic behaviour in providing versatility in drug design, form and delivery. However, the knowledge and application of palm oil and its fractions in lipid-based formulation are scarce and interspersed. Therefore, this study aims to focus on the research and outcomes of using palm oil in lipid-based formulations and drug delivery systems, due to the importance of establishing its capabilities and benefits.

Efficient Semi-Synthesis of Natural δ-( R)-Tocotrienols from a Renewable Vegetal Source

Recent studies have highlighted the biological potential of tocotrienols, a vitamin E subfamily. The major natural sources of tocotrienols are complex mixtures requiring particularly challenging purification processes. The present study describes efficient semi-synthetic strategies toward relevant δ-( R)-tocotrienol derivatives, using as a starting material δ-( R)-garcinoic acid, the major vitamin E derivative isolated from Garcinia kola nuts, a renewable vegetal source.