Over 100 years of vitamin E: An overview from synthesis and formulation to application in animal nutrition

J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2024 May;108(3):646-663. doi: 10.1111/jpn.13919. Epub 2024 Jan 11.

Abstract

The groundbreaking discovery of vitamin E by Evans and Bishop in 1922 was an important milestone in vitamin research, inspiring further investigation into its crucial role in both human and animal nutrition. Supplementing vitamin E has been proved to enhance multiple key physiological systems such as the reproductive, circulatory, nervous and muscular systems. As the main antioxidant in the blood and on a cellular level, vitamin E maintains the integrity of both cellular and vascular membranes and thus modulates the immune system. This overview showcases important and innovative routes for synthesizing vitamin E on a commercial scale, provides cutting-edge insights into formulation concepts for successful product form development and emphasizes the importance and future of vitamin E in healthy and sustainable animal nutrition.

Keywords: animal nutrition; antioxidant; formulation; tocopherol; tocopheryl acetate; vitamin E.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Animal Feed / analysis
  • Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena*
  • Animals
  • History, 20th Century
  • History, 21st Century
  • Vitamin E* / administration & dosage
  • Vitamin E* / chemistry
  • Vitamin E* / pharmacology

Substances

  • Vitamin E

Grants and funding