**4. Antioxidant effects of tocotrienols**

Similar to tocopherol, tocotrienol displays antioxidative effects by acting as a scavenger towards the chain-propagating peroxyl radical [50]. Alpha-tocotrienol is more potent as an antioxidant than alpha-tocopherol with regards to the scavenging of peroxyl radicals in liposomes [51]. Alpha-tocotrienol is disseminated more evenly in the phospholipid bilayer of the plasma membrane than alpha-tocopherol. Alpha-tocotrienol also collides with radicals in a more efficient manner, thus giving further credential to alpha-tocotrienol as a better antioxidant than alpha-tocopherol [50]. In the phospholipid bilayer of the plasma membrane, the distribution of alpha-tocotrienol is more evenly spread. The collision between free radical species and alpha-tocotrienol was also found to be more efficient. These two reasons contribute to the assumption that alpha-tocotrienol possess a better antioxidative effect compared to alpha-tocopherol [50].

Another study also concluded that alpha-tocotrienol is more potent than alphatocopherol, whereby tocotrienols were able to inhibit the free radical activation within monocytes [52]. In this experiment, the generation of free radicals was achieved by injecting rodents with a toxic chemical (ferric nitrilotriacetate) intraperitoneally, in which the rodents were supplemented with alpha-tocotrienol and alpha-tocopherol concurrently throughout the study. It was discovered that alpha-tocotrienol could inhibit free radical activation at a lower dose compared to alpha-tocopherol [52].

It had been suggested that many health benefits of tocotrienols have been linked to their antioxidative activity. A previous study had indicated that tocotrienols were able to decrease the oxidative stress level in subjects with hyperlipidaemia and carotid stenosis [53]. Tocotrienols have been shown to exert antiatherogenic effects through oxidative and non-oxidative pathways [54]. The reduction in DNA damage is brought about by the free radical scavenging activity of tocotrienols. Tocotrienol supplementation might provide benefit to healthy older adults by protecting their DNA from damage [55]. The reduction in DNA damage is postulated to prevent the onset of cancer [3].
