The
benefits offered by tocotrienols in health and
diseases must be accompanied by a relatively good
absorption of the compunds into the bloodstream
by the gastrointestinal tract. Poor absorption
will result in poor bioavalaibality, thus
consumers will not be able to obtain the optimal
benefits that tocotrienols can provide. Lipid materials,
including tocotrienols are ferried across the
intestinal wall into the bloodstream by micelles.
Micelles are only present when lipases and bile
salts are produced. The bile help emulsify
fat-soluble materials to provide them with
greater surface area so as to enhance absorption
into the bloodstream.
Dietary fat must be
sufficient in amount for adequate secretions of
the lipases and bile. Like other fat-soluble
vitamins (A, D, K), the absorption of
tocotrienols will not be complete without the
presence of dietary fat. Therefore their
absorption in the bloodstream will be erratic,
especially when taken in fasted condition. The
consistency of bile and lipase secretions in
between doses also plays a major role in
determining the extent of absorption.
Despite these
shortcomings, a new system has been designed to
provide an optimum absorption of tocotrienols to
its users. With this new emulsion system, the
users are assured of a 200%-300% increase in
absorption. Besides this, its absorption will be
more consistent as this will not have to depend
on the intake of dietery fat. Emulsions have been
known to improve absorption of oil-soluble drugs.
However, conventional emulsions are not a
preferred dosage since they are bulky, have
shorter shelf life due to stability problem and
are less palatable. In recent years, there has
been great interest in self-emulsifying drug
delivery system (SEEDS) due to the many
advantages offered by these kind of systems which
include enhanced bioavalaibality improved
reproducibility of plasma profiles and reduced
inter-and intra- subject varibility.
The newly designed
system to improve tocotrienol's absorption is
essentially an optimal combination of suitable
oil and a suitable surfactant system that
self-emulsifies in the gastrointestinal tract.
The oil contains a suitable fatty acid
composition, which promotes adsorption of
tocotrienols via the lympathic system. This
combination, upon in vivo administration forms
fine oil in water emulsions spontaneously with
gentle agitation. Therefore, this combination is
not dependent on bile secretion for absorption.
The emulsified form itself is already readily
absorbable. This ensures a rapid transport of
tocotrienols into the blood.
Comparative Bioavailability Study of
a Conventional Preparation and
a Novel preparation of Tocotrienols.
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