Edible oil originating from plants are rich source for tocotrienols. Crude palm oil extracted from the fruits of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) particularly contains a high amount of tocotrienols (up to 800 mg/kg), mainly consisting of gamma-tocotrienol and alpha-tocotrienol. It also contain the most potent form of all commercially available tocotrienols - delta-tocotrienol.
Tocotrienols are also found in oil derived from rice bran, barley, wheat germ and rye.
Common sources of tocotrienols are:
| |
Tocopherols (T1)
milligrams per 1000 grams* / ppm |
Tocotrienols (T3)
milligrams per 1000 grams* / ppm |
T3 |
T1 & T3 |
| Sources |
alpha |
beta |
gamma |
delta |
alpha |
beta |
gamma |
delta |
Total |
Total |
| Palm Oil1 |
256 |
- |
316 |
70 |
143 |
32 |
286 |
69 |
530 |
1172 |
| Palm Oil2 |
279 |
- |
61 |
- |
274 |
- |
398 |
69 |
741 |
1081 |
| Palm Oil |
152 |
- |
- |
- |
205 |
- |
439 |
94 |
738 |
890 |
| Rice bran |
324 |
18 |
53 |
- |
236 |
- |
349 |
- |
585 |
980 |
| Wheat Germ |
1179 |
398 |
493 |
118 |
24 |
165 |
- |
- |
189 |
2377 |
| Barley |
350 |
50 |
50 |
- |
670 |
120 |
120 |
- |
910 |
1360 |
| Oat |
180 |
20 |
50 |
50 |
180 |
- |
30 |
- |
210 |
510 |
| Coconut Oil |
5 |
- |
- |
6 |
5 |
1 |
19 |
- |
25 |
36 |
| Palm kernel Oil |
13 |
- |
- |
- |
21 |
- |
- |
- |
21 |
34 |
| Soya bean Oil |
101 |
- |
593 |
264 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
958 |
| Safflower Oil |
387 |
- |
387 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
774 |
| Peanut Oil |
130 |
- |
216 |
21 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
367 |
| Cocoa Butter |
11 |
- |
170 |
17 |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
200 |
| Olive Oil |
51 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
51 |
1 HT Slover, Lipid 6;291 (1971)
2 KJ Whitte, et al. Analyst 92;423 (1967) |
| Tocotrienols From Normal Diet Alone |
| Since tocotrienols only occur at very low levels in nature, with the highest concentration found in palm oil, so it is virtually impossible to attain the amount of tocotrienols that show beneficial effects from the normal diet alone. For example, one would need to consume a cup of palm olein (cooking oil) a day to get the level required for effectiveness as described in most studies. |
| Sources |
Amount Taken To Achieve the Required Levels of Tocotrienols |
| RBD Palm Olein (Cooking Oil) |
1 tea cup (~ 80 g) |
| Rice Bran Oil |
2 tea cup (~ 160 g) |
| Barley |
3.0 kg |
| Wheatgerm |
1.5 kg |
| Oats |
4.0 kg |