Lipid peroxidation in tissues of vitamin E deficient rats

Abstract

The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PFA) of lipids tend to peroxidize in tissues of rats on vitamin E deficient diets ( Dam and Granados, 1945). However, Bernhard (1958) claimed that vitamin E had no effect on PFA levels in either brain or liver. Lipid peroxides can cause much structural and metabolic damage. Horgan et al (1957) have demonstrated the toxicity of injected lipid peroxides as well as those peroxides induced by radiation ( Ottolenghi et al , 1955 ). The function of rat and rabbit mitochondria are affected by peroxidation ( Ottolenghi, 1959; Tappel and Zalkin, 1959) and these aberrations are reducible by vitamin E. Ascorbic acid synthesis in liver homogenages was reduced by the presence of lipid peroxides ( Carpenter et al , 1959 ). Recently Tsen and Collier (1960) in this laboratory have found evidence that lipid peroxides are responsible for the susceptibility of erythrocytes from E deficient rats to hemolysis by dialuric acid and oxygen. The present investigation has confirmed the presence of lipid peroxides in certain tissues (brain, heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, adrenals, intestine) of normal rats ( Cole, 1956; Kibrick et al, 1959 ) and has shown that the tissue peroxide content and susceptibility to peroxidation increased on diets low in vitamin E. The results also indicate that, while the level of PFA is reduced by vitamin E deprivation, the tendency of the remaining PFA to form lipid peroxides is greatly enhanced in most tissues. In brain and heart the most active sub-cellular area for lipid peroxide formation was located in a microsomal supernatant.