Metabolism of vitamin E acetate by reconstituted human gingival and buccal epithelium

Aim: To demonstrate metabolism of vitamin E acetate to vitamin E by human gingival and buccal reconstituted epithelial cell cultures. Method: Human gingival and buccal reconstituted epithelial cell cultures (SkinEthic, France) were exposed to vitamin E acetate and maintained for up to seven days at 37°C (5% CO₂) in a humidified incubator. Following organic extraction of the cultures, reverse phase HPLC was used to analyse the quantities of vitamin E and vitamin E acetate in the cultures. Results: The ratio of vitamin E to vitamin E acetate increased up to 30 fold more than the solution control in gingival cultures after 7 days. Conclusion: This paper demonstrates that human gingival and buccal epithelial cells can metabolise vitamin E acetate to vitamin E, thus delivering the more active vitamin E species under the control of the activity of endogenous host enzymes.