International Journal of Nanomedicine (Dec 2020)
Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics of Vitamin E: Nanoformulations to Enhance Bioavailability
Abstract
Anis Syauqina Mohd Zaffarin,1 Shiow-Fern Ng,2 Min Hwei Ng,3 Haniza Hassan,4 Ekram Alias1 1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia; 2Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia; 3Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia; 4Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, MalaysiaCorrespondence: Ekram AliasDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, W.P., Kuala Lumpur 56000, MalaysiaTel +60 3 9145 9559Fax +60 3 9145 9546Email [email protected] HassanDepartment of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor 43400, MalaysiaEmail [email protected]: Vitamin E belongs to the family of lipid-soluble vitamins and can be divided into two groups, tocopherols and tocotrienols, with four isomers (alpha, beta, gamma and delta). Although vitamin E is widely known as a potent antioxidant, studies have also revealed that vitamin E possesses anti-inflammatory properties. These crucial properties of vitamin E are beneficial in various aspects of health, especially in neuroprotection and cardiovascular, skin and bone health. However, the poor bioavailability of vitamin E, especially tocotrienols, remains a great limitation for clinical applications. Recently, nanoformulations that include nanovesicles, solid-lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, nanoemulsions, and polymeric nanoparticles have shown promising outcomes in improving the efficacy and bioavailability of vitamin E. This review focuses on the pharmacological properties and pharmacokinetics of vitamin E and current advances in vitamin E nanoformulations for future clinical applications. The limitations and future recommendations are also discussed in this review.Keywords: tocopherols, tocotrienols, nanoparticles, drug delivery, bioavailability
