AbstractA sensitive and selective method was developed for analyzing the tocol isomers in corn grain by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The relative proportions and the total amounts of the tocol isomers (α‐tocopherol, α‐tocotrienol, γ‐tocopherol and γ‐tocortrienol) varied greatly among the 15 corn inbreds that were examined. Although γ‐tocopherol has traditionally been considered to be the predominant vitamin E isomer in corn, inbreds with equal or higher levels of α‐tocopherol have been discovered. No tocotrienols were found in corn germ oil, only α‐and γ‐tocopherols. Analysis of the tocopherols of the germ oils of inbreds and their reciprocal crosses indicated that the proportions of the α‐ and γ‐isomers and the total amount of the tocopherols are heritable.