Tocopherols and tocotrienols, collectively known as vitamin E, have received a great deal of attention because of their interesting biological activities. In the present study, we reexamined and improved previous methods of sample preparation and the conditions of high-performance liquid chromatography for more accurate quantification of tocopherols, tocotrienols and their major chain-degradation metabolites. For the analysis of serum tocopherols/tocotrienols, we reconfirmed our method of mixing serum with ethanol followed by hexane extraction. For the analysis of tissue samples, we improved our methods by extracting tocopherols/tocotrienols directly from tissue homogenate with hexane. For the analysis of total amounts (conjugated and unconjugated forms) of side-chain degradation metabolites, the samples need to be deconjugated by incubating with β-glucuronidase and sulfatase; serum samples can be directly used for the incubation, whereas for tissue homogenates a pre-deproteination step is needed. The present methods are sensitive, convenient and are suitable for the determination of different forms of vitamin E and their metabolites in animal and human studies. Results from the analysis of serum, liver, kidney, lung and urine samples from mice that had been treated with mixtures of tocotrienols and tocopherols are presented as examples.

中文翻译：

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用 HPLC-EC 有效分析动物样品中生育酚、生育三烯酚及其代谢物的方法

生育酚和生育三烯酚，统称为维生素 E，因其有趣的生物活性而受到广泛关注。在本研究中，我们重新检查和改进了以前的样品制备方法和高效液相色谱条件，以更准确地定量生育酚、生育三烯酚及其主要链降解代谢物。对于血清生育酚/生育三烯酚的分析，我们再次确认了将血清与乙醇混合然后己烷萃取的方法。对于组织样本的分析，我们改进了我们的方法，用己烷直接从组织匀浆中提取生育酚/生育三烯酚。为了分析侧链降解代谢物的总量（共轭和非共轭形式），样品需要通过与 β-葡萄糖醛酸酶和硫酸酯酶一起孵育来解偶联；血清样品可直接用于孵育，而对于组织匀浆，则需要预去蛋白步骤。本方法灵敏、方便，适用于动物和人体研究中不同形式的维生素 E 及其代谢物的测定。来自用生育三烯酚和生育酚的混合物处理的小鼠的血清、肝、肾、肺和尿液样品的分析结果作为实例给出。方便，适用于动物和人体研究中不同形式的维生素 E 及其代谢物的测定。来自用生育三烯酚和生育酚的混合物处理的小鼠的血清、肝、肾、肺和尿液样品的分析结果作为实例给出。方便，适用于动物和人体研究中不同形式的维生素 E 及其代谢物的测定。来自用生育三烯酚和生育酚的混合物处理的小鼠的血清、肝、肾、肺和尿液样品的分析结果作为实例给出。