Tocopherol is a naturally occurring chemical element found in a variety of foods. It is commonly called vitamin E in a generic sense, as vitamin E substances are made up of tocopherol and similar elements. The most common form of this element is called alpha-tocopherol.ocopherol in the form of vitamin E is a regular part of the average diet, with specific recommended dosages available to the public from U.S. science institutions in the form of recommended daily allowance or RDA. Foods that include vitamin E will usually have the RDA printed on the nutritional label.