Identification of d- or dl-alpha-tocopherol in pharmaceuticals, food supplements, or feed supplements: a collaborative study.

A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate a method for identifying d- or dl-alpha-tocopherol in pharmaceuticals, food supplements, or feed supplements. The sample is extracted and saponified, the extraneous color is removed by chromatography, and the sample is assayed for vitamin E. Optical rotations are determined before and after formation of the ferricyanide oxidation product. The specific optical rotation of the oxidation product is negligible for the dl-form and +25.5 degrees for the d-form. Statistical analysis of the data reported by 8 collaborators for the standard d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate and for 6 unknown samples indicates a significant interaction between laboratories and samples. The mean coefficients of variation among laboratories for the determinations of the corrected specific optical rotation of the standard and the rotation ratio for the unknown samples containing d-alpha-tocopherol were 11.7 and 21.6%, respectively, for all laboratories and 5.8 and 11.8%, respectively, for experienced laboratories. This identification test for vitamin E is acceptable for determining the form of vitamin E as either d or dl, but is not acceptable for accurately determining mixtures of the 2 forms. The method has been adopted as official first action for the identification of d- or dl-alpha-tocopherol.