Production of D-alpha-tocopherol from natural plant sources.

摘要

Quantities of natural tocopherol can be aminoalkylated to selectively introduce functional groups onto the 5 and 7 positions of the non-alpha-tocopherol homologues. Natural d-alpha-tocopherol can then be separated from the aminoalkylated non-alpha-tocopherols as salts. After separation the adducts can then be reduced by hydrogenolysis, thereby upgrading vitamin E activity by making d-alpha-tocopherol out of the intermediate tocopherol adducts. Salts of these adducts can be crystallized by contacting the adducts with phosphoric acid. Salts will form upon acetic acid addition, and the delta-tocopherol adduct acetate can be isolated as a crystalline solid. The adducts can also be regenerated from the salts and transformed to alpha-tocopherol by reduction of the adduct.