Vitamin E shi ne mara wari kuma mara ?an?ano mai haske rawaya mai mai soluble bitamin tare da antioxidant, anticancer, anti-mai kumburi da sauran ayyuka. Bisa ga tsarin kwayoyin halitta, ana iya raba shi zuwa kashi biyu: tocopherols da tocotrienols. Kowane rukuni ya kasu kashi hudu bisa ga matsayin methyl akan zoben chromophore: alpha, beta, gamma, da delta [1-2]. Abubuwan da ke da ala?a da tocopherols, irin su tocotrienols, suna da takamaiman aiki lokacin da masu maye suka bambanta, amma aikin tocopherols yana raguwa sosai.

Dukansu tocopherol da tocotrienol suna da tasirin antioxidant mai ?arfi. Saboda ayyukan furotin na alpha tocopherol (alpha TP) da furotin mai ?aure tocopherol (TBP) a cikin jiki, tocopherol yana ?aukar sau?i kuma yana amfani da shi ta jiki. Don haka, ana ?aukar alpha tocopherol a matsayin babban bayyanar aikin antioxidant na bitamin E a cikin jiki. Alpha tocopherol, tare da tsarin kwayoyin C29H50O2 da nauyin kwayoyin halitta na 430.5, ya kasu kashi biyu bisa tushensa: na halitta da na roba, wanda aka nuna a matsayin D-type da L-type, bi da bi. Halitta alpha tocopherol yana cikin R conformation (RRR), yayin da alpha tocopherol da aka ha?a ta artificially yana cikin tsarin RS (RRR, RSR, RRS, RSS, SRR, SSR, SRS, SSS). Tsarin yana da ala?a da aikinsa, kuma binciken ya gano cewa kawai alpha tocopherol tare da 2R ko fiye da jiki zai iya amfani da shi kuma ya sha. Saboda haka, alpha tocopherol na halitta yana da ?imar sinadirai mafi girma kuma yana da aminci fiye da alpha tocopherol da aka ha?a ta wucin gadi.