To identify dietary phenolic compounds capable of improving vitamin E status, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed for 4 weeks either a basal diet (control) with 2 g/kg cholesterol and an adequate content of vitamin E or the basal diet fortified with quercetin (Q), (2)-epicatechin (EC), or (1)-catechin (C) at concentrations of 2 g/kg. All three catechol derivatives substantially increased concentrations of a-tocopherol (a-T) in blood plasma and liver. To study potential mechanisms underlying the observed increase of a-T, the capacities of the flavonoids to i ) protect a-T from oxidation in LDL exposed to peroxyl radicals, ii ) reduce a-tocopheroxyl radicals (a-T˙) in SDS micelles, and iii ) inhibit the metabolism of tocopherols in HepG2 cells were determined. All flavonoids protected a-T from oxidation in human LDL ex vivo and dose-dependently reduced the concentrations of a-T˙. None of the test compounds affected vitamin E metabolism in the hepatocyte cultures. In conclusion, fortification of the diet of Sprague-Dawley rats with Q, EC, or C considerably improved their vitamin E status. The underlying mechanism does not appear to involve vitamin E metabolism but may involve direct quenching of free radicals or reduction of the a-T˙by the