ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the scientific evidence suggesting that anionic tocopherol esters provide mammalian cells with a form of d-α-tocopherol that enhances the effectiveness of this important endogenous antioxidant. It examines postulated mechanisms to explain anionic tocopherol-mediated cytoprotection. The anionic tocopherol esters include d-α-tocopheryl hemisuccinate (TS), and dl-α-tocopheryl phosphate (TP). The majority of toxicity/lipid peroxidation studies that report using anionic tocopherol esters have used TS, free acid for in vitro experimentation. The majority of studies demonstrating TS cytoprotection have been conducted using freshly isolated rat hepatocytes in suspension, with several additional studies using primary cultures of rat hepatocytes and rat liver microsomes. Commercially available synthetic anionic tocopherol ester reported to be cytoprotective is dl-α-tocopheryl phosphate, disodium salt. The experimental evidence support the conclusion that the anionic tocopherol esters, TS and TP, protect cells and organisms against a wide variety of toxic insults, most of which also induce lipid peroxidation.
