Roche Vitamins Issued Patent for Tocopherol Acetate Process 32887

Roche Vitamins Issued Patent for Tocopherol Acetate Process

PARSIPPANY, N.J.--A patent was issued to RocheVitamins Inc. in early September covering a process for creating tocol andtocopherol acylates, particularly tocopherol acetates. The invention (U.S.Patent No. 6,444,098) includes combining tocol or tocopherol with an acylatingagent (an acid radical such as acetic anhydride) to form a reaction mixture,irradiating the mixture with microwave energy, and isolating tocol or tocopherolacetate from the reaction mixture.

This patent hinges off another patent given in 1981 (U.S. PatentNo. 2,723,278) in which tocopherol acetate was created without a catalyst.

In the present invention, it was found that tocopherol acetatecould be formed through irradiation via microwaves at around 600 to 1,200 watts.The process requires a shorter reaction time and gives better yields than the1981 invention. The patent also covers any form of tocopherol, such as alpha andgamma.

Werner Bonrath and Fabio Cirillo were the inventors of theprocess, and Roche Vitamins is the assignee of the patent. More information canbe found at www.uspto.gov.