OCCURRENCE OF THE VITAMINS E 691 



In fact, Bacharach et al.^'' reported the total absence of vitamin E in olive 

 oil and its low concentration in peanut oil. Rosenberg^^ notes that lettuce 

 and alfalfa contain considerable amounts of tocopherols, while bananas 

 and oranges are low in this vitamin. Mason^'' is of the opinion that vita- 

 min E is absent from such lower plant forms as algae, fungi, liverworts 

 (Hepaticae) , mosses, ferns, and primitive seed plants. In fact, Schopfer 

 and Bloomer^^ definitely pro\'ed the alxsence of tocopherols from the 

 saprophytic mold, Phyconujces, which is a fungus. 



The tocopherols are present in highest concentration in seed oils in which 

 they occur in unesterified (or free) form.'^"'''^ It is interesting that the oils 

 from wheat germ and from wheat bran are the only ones which contain an 

 appreciable amount of /^-tocopherol. ;5-Tocopherol is the principal form 

 found in European wheat, in conjunction with a smaller or approximately 

 equal amount of a-tocopherol/^ and with a smaller content of 7-tocopherol. 

 According to Emerson, "^ the oil from the germ of the California-grown 

 wheat contains twice as much a- as ,3-tocopherol, with only a trace of the 

 7-type. 7-Tocopherol is especially high in corn and palm oils,'^^ while 5- 

 tocopherol is present chiefly in soybean oil.'^^ e-Tocopherol has been re- 

 ported to have an especially high concentration in wheat bran oil and rye 

 oil; it is comparatively low in wheat germ oil. Barley is especially rich in 

 ^-tocopherol, as is rye oil. Halden^" observed that a total of 1050 mg. % 

 may occur in rye germ oil. 



{2) Distribution in Animal Tissues 



In contradistinction to most vegetable fats, animal fats have an ex- 

 ceedingly low tocopherol content.''* Thus, the values recorded for the 

 several animal fats examined ranged between 0.2 to 4.2 mg. per 100 g. fat.''* 

 This level appears exceedingly low when compared with one of 400 mg. % 

 for wheat germ oil or 100 mg. % for cottonseed oil. Oleo oil is reported 



" A. L. Bacharach, E. AUchorne, and H. E. Glynn, Biochem. J., 31, 2287-2292 (1932). 

 ^^ H. R. Rosenberg, Chemistry and Physiology of the Vitamins, Interscience, New 

 York, 1945. 



" W. H. Schopfer and S. Bloomer, Z. Vitaminforsch., 9, 344-349 (1939). 



70 W. Halden, Monatsh., 77, 197-205 (1947). 



71 A. R. Moss and J. C. Drummond, Biochem. J., 32, 1953-1956 (1938). 



72 O. H. Emerson, /. Am. Chem. Soc, 60, 1741-1742 (1938). 



" O. H. Emerson, G. A. Emerson, and H. M. Evans, Science, 89, 183 (1939). 



'■^ L. Weisler, C. D. Robeson, and J. G. Baxter, Ind. Eng. Chem., Anal. Ed., 19, 906- 

 909 (1947). 



7^ H. J. Deuel, Jr., Nutrition Aspects of Cottonseed Oil Utilization. Chap. XIX, in 

 A. E. Bailey, Cottonseed and Cottonseed Products, Interscience, New York, 1948, 763-811, 

 p. 772. 



