Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AnNuVitE (Animal and Human Nutrition Benefits of Nature Identical Vitamin E)
Reporting period: 2018-09-01 to 2020-08-31
Vitamin E food additive is either synthetic all-rac-α-tocopherol (E 307) or natural tocopherol-rich extracts (E 306). In the first case, the active RRR-α-tocopherol is accompanied by 7 other non-natural isomers of undetermined individual activity. In the second case, it is accompanied by variable amounts of other tocopherols and tocotrienols but, more seriously, the supply (soya deodorizer distillate) is limited. At present, the all-rac-α-tocopherol comprises approx. 90% of presently used vitamin E additive.
Ideally, and like the other vitamins, E would be synthetically available as nature-identical material. However, this has not proven possible to date. The main difficulty in the preparation of RRR-α-tocopherol is the asymmetric construction of the C2 stereocentre (the first R). Although a number of approaches for this have been tried previously, none are suitable for industrial synthesis, being either too long, low yielding, involving complex reagents and/or not producing the required purity level.
UCD Chemistry has made a breakthrough in synthesis with the development of three related routes, all with potential for the large-scale synthesis of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol. With this breakthrough in hand we therefore propose to advance the state of the art by achieving the following objectives in this project:
Objective 1: Synthesis, scale up and costings of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol. The objective is to explore the potential of the new synthetic route, both from the point-of-view of practicality and cost.
Objective 2: To evaluate the antioxidant efficacy of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol versus natural and all-rac-α-tocopherol.
Objective 3: To evaluate dietary uptake and antioxidant efficacy of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol in chickens.
Objective 4: To examine the impact of supplementation of nature identical versus natural versus all-rac-α- tocopherol on circulating proportions of RRR-α-tocopherol stereoisomers in a human adult population.
Overall, the aim of this project is to use exchange of staff on an international and inter sectoral basis to investigate the impact of the consumption of novel nature-identical RRR-α-tocopherol in animal models on nutritional quality of animal-derived foods and in human models on bioavailability and circulating stereoisomers, and in doing so to foster a culture of research and innovation that will underpin new innovative products, services and processes in the area of animal and human nutrition with respect to vitamin E
Ideally, and like the other vitamins, E would be synthetically available as nature-identical material. However, this has not proven possible to date. The main difficulty in the preparation of RRR-α-tocopherol is the asymmetric construction of the C2 stereocentre (the first R). Although a number of approaches for this have been tried previously, none are suitable for industrial synthesis, being either too long, low yielding, involving complex reagents and/or not producing the required purity level.
UCD Chemistry has made a breakthrough in synthesis with the development of three related routes, all with potential for the large-scale synthesis of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol. With this breakthrough in hand we therefore propose to advance the state of the art by achieving the following objectives in this project:
Objective 1: Synthesis, scale up and costings of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol. The objective is to explore the potential of the new synthetic route, both from the point-of-view of practicality and cost.
Objective 2: To evaluate the antioxidant efficacy of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol versus natural and all-rac-α-tocopherol.
Objective 3: To evaluate dietary uptake and antioxidant efficacy of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol in chickens.
Objective 4: To examine the impact of supplementation of nature identical versus natural versus all-rac-α- tocopherol on circulating proportions of RRR-α-tocopherol stereoisomers in a human adult population.
Overall, the aim of this project is to use exchange of staff on an international and inter sectoral basis to investigate the impact of the consumption of novel nature-identical RRR-α-tocopherol in animal models on nutritional quality of animal-derived foods and in human models on bioavailability and circulating stereoisomers, and in doing so to foster a culture of research and innovation that will underpin new innovative products, services and processes in the area of animal and human nutrition with respect to vitamin E
The synthesis methodologies have been tested at higher scale and one of the three routes has been selected for larger scale synthesis.
The antioxidative capacity comparison of the suite of antioxidants has been completed with all of the proposed assays.
The full design of the chicken study has been completed.
All of the ethical and regulatory requirements for the various studies have been determined.
The antioxidative capacity comparison of the suite of antioxidants has been completed with all of the proposed assays.
The full design of the chicken study has been completed.
All of the ethical and regulatory requirements for the various studies have been determined.
Beyond SoA: Synthesis and scale up of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol. This material has never been available at scale before. It has potential to significantly impact the understanding of both human and animal nutrition.
Beyond SoA: Antioxidant efficacy of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol versus natural and all-rac-α-tocopherol. This has never been achieved before. It also has potential to significantly impact the understanding of both human and animal nutrition and food quality.
Beyond SoA: Dietary uptake and antioxidant efficacy of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol in chickens. This has never been studied before. This has potential direct effects on the quality of chicken meat.
Beyond SoA: Impact of supplementation of nature identical versus natural versus all-rac-α- tocopherol on circulating proportions of RRR-α-tocopherol stereoisomers in a human adult population. This has the potential to significantly enhance the understanding of the mechanism of action of vitamin E.
Beyond SoA: Antioxidant efficacy of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol versus natural and all-rac-α-tocopherol. This has never been achieved before. It also has potential to significantly impact the understanding of both human and animal nutrition and food quality.
Beyond SoA: Dietary uptake and antioxidant efficacy of nature identical RRR-α-tocopherol in chickens. This has never been studied before. This has potential direct effects on the quality of chicken meat.
Beyond SoA: Impact of supplementation of nature identical versus natural versus all-rac-α- tocopherol on circulating proportions of RRR-α-tocopherol stereoisomers in a human adult population. This has the potential to significantly enhance the understanding of the mechanism of action of vitamin E.