Dl-alpha Tocopherol Acetate Research Articles

PSVII-13 The Evaluation of Natural Vs Synthetic Vitamin E Supplementation for the Management of Alpha-Tocopherol Serum Concentrations in Morgan Horses

Abstract Vitamin E is an important lipid-soluble antioxidant that is tied to normal neuromuscular function in adult horses. Deficiency in serum vitamin E concentrations have been associated with several equine diseases such as Equine Motor Neuron Disease and Equine degenerative myeloencepalopathy. Horses with restricted access to pasture and genetic predispositions, like the Morgan Horse, can be especially susceptible to being marginally low or deficient. Two types of supplemental forms of Vitamin E are available: natural form, d-alpha-tocopherol acetate, and a synthetic form, dl-alpha-tocopherol, with the natural form being more expensive for horse owners. The objective of this study was to compare the serum vitamin E concentrations of horses on a low dose of natural (d-alpha) versus synthetic (dl-alpha) vitamin E. Eight horses with marginal/deficient serum alpha-tocopherol (0.94 – 2.3 µg/mL) were enrolled in a randomized block design study. Blocks were balanced for age, body weight and pre-study vitamin E level and were assigned to one of two treatments. 1) NATURAL – 2,000 IU powder (d-alpha-tocopherol acetate) for 16 wk. 2) SYNTHETIC – 2,000 IU dl-alpha tocopherol acetate for 16 wk. Horses were housed in box stalls with daily turnout without access to grass. Horses were fed hay at 2% of BW and 0.45 kg of concentrate daily with vitamin E feed activity of 45.5 and 1,378 IU/kg, respectively. Natural and synthetic treatments were fed once daily with the AM feeding. To ensure horses consumed the powder d-alpha-tocopherol acetate and capsules of dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate, cookies made from alfalfa powder, gelatin and d-alpha-tocopherol acetate powder were created. Serum alpha-tocopherol was assessed pre-feeding every four weeks from 0 to 16 weeks. Overall, horses supplemented with synthetic treatment had higher serum alpha-tocopherol than those supplemented with the natural treatment (2.61 vs 2.34, respectively; SE = 0.08, P = 0.05). Both treatments increased serum alpha-tocopherol concentrations to normal ranges (2.0-4.0 µg/mL) for all horses by 4 weeks and maintained the normal concentrations with the exception of week 12 for horses receiving the natural supplement compared with the synthetic (1.81 vs 2.62 µg/mL). Because of this diversion, there tended to be a week x treatment interaction (P = 0.06). The results of this study indicate the use of a synthetic, more affordable Vitamin E supplement will increase serum alpha-tocopherol concentrations similarly to natural supplements. However, further research is needed to determine how these supplements are utilized within the body.

Studies on Vitamin Mineral Interactions in Relation to Passive Transfer of Immunoglobulins in Buffalo Calves

Status of blood minerals and their absorption by neonate calves as influenced by fat soluble vitamins supplementation in their respective mothers, mineral supplementation in calves themselves has been evaluated. The objective was to know the impact of antioxidant vitamin supplementation to advance pregnant buffaloes, on enhanced acquired immunity during first few hours after birth, in relation to weight gain in buffalo calves. Advance pregnant buffaloes (n = 30) consisting of average body weight of 550±15 kg and of 4- 6 parity were fed on 25 kg green (green Jawar-Sorghum bicolor), 2-3 kg wheat straw and 3-4 kg concentrate mixture individually per day. Intramuscular injections of vitamin triplex A D3 E consisting of -2,500,000 IU of vit A -Palmitate; 2,500,000 IU of vitamin D3 and 1,000 IU of vit E (dl-alpha tocopherol acetate) were given per dose, a month prior to parturition, twice at 15 days interval to 15 dams. Rest of the 15 pregnant buffaloes served as negative controls. Secretion of immune proteins, immunoglobulin (Ig) enhanced by 80% in colostrum. The blood serum levels of Zn, Cu, Ca, Mg were measured from birth to 90 days in calves. A significant (p<0.05) difference between the blood serum Zn levels of calves born to vitamin supplemented and non-supplemented dams was measured and a positive correlation between blood serum Zn levels and injections of vitamins was identified. Association of Zn and Cu with passive immunity status has been identified in these calves. A significant positive correlation between Zn and Cu was also identified which showed a change under the impact of vitamin supplementation in buffaloes. The study signifies the role of micronutrients supplementation in dams prior to parturition, in calf immunity development. The study indicates significant mineral - vitamins interactions during this process. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2006. Vol 19, No. 6 : 825-830)

Poisoning due to Pyrethroids

The first pyrethroid pesticide, allethrin, was identified in 1949. Allethrin and other pyrethroids with a basic cyclopropane carboxylic ester structure are type I pyrethroids. The insecticidal activity of these synthetic pyrethroids was enhanced further by the addition of a cyano group to give alpha-cyano (type II) pyrethroids, such as cypermethrin. The finding of insecticidal activity in a group of phenylacetic 3-phenoxybenzyl esters, which lacked the cyclopropane ring but contained the alpha-cyano group (and hence were type II pyrethroids) led to the development of fenvalerate and related compounds. All pyrethroids can exist as at least four stereoisomers, each with different biological activities. They are marketed as racemic mixtures or as single isomers. In commercial formulations, the activity of pyrethroids is usually enhanced by the addition of a synergist such as piperonyl butoxide, which inhibits metabolic degradation of the active ingredient. Pyrethroids are used widely as insecticides both in the home and commercially, and in medicine for the topical treatment of scabies and headlice. In tropical countries mosquito nets are commonly soaked in solutions of deltamethrin as part of antimalarial strategies. Pyrethroids are some 2250 times more toxic to insects than mammals because insects have increased sodium channel sensitivity, smaller body size and lower body temperature. In addition, mammals are protected by poor dermal absorption and rapid metabolism to non-toxic metabolites. The mechanisms by which pyrethroids alone are toxic are complex and become more complicated when they are co-formulated with either piperonyl butoxide or an organophosphorus insecticide, or both, as these compounds inhibit pyrethroid metabolism. The main effects of pyrethroids are on sodium and chloride channels. Pyrethroids modify the gating characteristics of voltage-sensitive sodium channels to delay their closure. A protracted sodium influx (referred to as a sodium 'tail current') ensues which, if it is sufficiently large and/or long, lowers the action potential threshold and causes repetitive firing; this may be the mechanism causing paraesthesiae. At high pyrethroid concentrations, the sodium tail current may be sufficiently great to prevent further action potential generation and 'conduction block' ensues. Only low pyrethroid concentrations are necessary to modify sensory neurone function. Type II pyrethroids also decrease chloride currents through voltage-dependent chloride channels and this action probably contributes the most to the features of poisoning with type II pyrethroids. At relatively high concentrations, pyrethroids can also act on GABA-gated chloride channels, which may be responsible for the seizures seen with severe type II poisoning. Despite their extensive world-wide use, there are relatively few reports of human pyrethroid poisoning. Less than ten deaths have been reported from ingestion or following occupational exposure. Occupationally, the main route of pyrethroid absorption is through the skin. Inhalation is much less important but increases when pyrethroids are used in confined spaces. The main adverse effect of dermal exposure is paraesthesiae, presumably due to hyperactivity of cutaneous sensory nerve fibres. The face is affected most commonly and the paraesthesiae are exacerbated by sensory stimulation such as heat, sunlight, scratching, sweating or the application of water. Pyrethroid ingestion gives rise within minutes to a sore throat, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. There may be mouth ulceration, increased secretions and/or dysphagia. Systemic effects occur 4-48 hours after exposure. Dizziness, headache and fatigue are common, and palpitations, chest tightness and blurred vision less frequent. Coma and convulsions are the principal life-threatening features. Most patients recover within 6 days, although there were seven fatalities among 573 cases in one series and one among 48 cases in another. Management is supportive. As paraesthesiae usually resolve in 12-24 hours, specific treatment is not generally required, although topical application of dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin E) may reduce their severity.

Synthetic pyrethroid insecticides: a dermatological evaluation.

Synthetic pyrethroids are lipophilic insecticides whose biological activity seems to be directly related to their chemical structure. In this investigation differences in cutaneous sensation were detected by human participants between synthetic pyrethroids with a cyano group in the (S)-configuration of the 3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol of their molecular structure (fenvalerate) and those that do not (permethrin). A strong relation was noted between insecticidal potency and degree of induced cutaneous sensation for the alpha-cyano and non-cyano pyrethroids, with a prominent difference between the two. No sensation was observed by any of the same participants on topical exposure to the inert ingredients of these agents. A linear correlation between concentration and degree of induced dysaethesia was observed for both pyrethroids. Regressing the cutaneous sensation on the common logarithm of concentration resulted in a regression equation of Y = 84.0 + 31.0X1 for fenvalerate and Y = 27.5 + 15.8X1 for permethrin. A highly efficacious therapeutic agent for pyrethroid exposure was noted to be dl-alpha tocopherol acetate. An impressive degree of inhibition of paraesthesia resulted from the topical application of vitamin E acetate, with a therapeutic index of almost 100%.

Vitamin E and Dapsone-Induced Hemolysis

Sixteen patients, each receiving 100 mg of dapsone per day, were studied for evidence of hemolysis. Vitamin E (dl-alpha tocopherol acetate), 800 mg/day, was then administered for up to three months, and dapsone therapy was continued at the same dose. Hemolysis factors were reexamined immediately prior to cessation of vitamin E therapy. No substantial change was demonstrable for levels of hemoglobin, reticulocyte count, and haptoglobin at the end of vitamin E therapy, despite a significant rise in serum vitamin E levels. Erythrocyte survival measured in four patients before and at the end of vitamin E therapy also showed no substantial change. Erythrocyte Heinz body count, however, fell in nine of 15 patients studied, and none showed an increase in this measurement while receiving vitamin E. We conclude that in patients receiving dapsone at 100 mg/day, vitamin E therapy at 800 mg/day does not substantially ameliorate the hemolytic effect of this drug.

VITAMIN E (VE) KINETICS IN INFANTS &lt;1500 GRAMS: INTRAMUSCULAR (IM) VS. ORAL ADMINISTRATION

Early VE use has been advocated to lessen severity of Retinopathy of Prematurity. Prematures are known to have cord blood VE levels lower than adult norms, but the ability of available VE preparations to raise these levels has not been studied. From 7/82 to 7/83, 30 infants <1500g were randomized into three groups. Group 1 (6-1) received a sesame oil preparation of dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (E-Ferol, O'Neal) as follows: a loading dose of 50 mg/kg IM within the first 12 hours of life and a maintenance dose of 20 mg/kg IM on days 2 through 7. Group 2 (6-2) received the same IM loading dose but maintenance doses of oral d-alpha tocopherol (Aquasol E, USV) at 25 mg/kg/dose every six hours by nasogastric tube on days 2 through 7. Osmolality was reduced to 557 mOsm/L by diluting 1:4 with sterile water. Group 3 (6-3) received only the oral drug at the above dose from day 1 through 7. Levels were measured in cord blood and 1, 3 and 7 days after VE was begun. Analysis was by high performance liquid chromatography with levels reported as mg/dl.

Effects of dietary vitamin E, selenium, and polyunsaturated fats on in vivo lipid peroxidation in the rat as measured by pentane production.

Starting at 21 days of age, groups of six rats each were fed a basal Torula yeast diet supplemented with 0.4% L-methionine and varying amounts of vitamin E as dl-alpha tocopherol acetate, selenium as sodium selenite, and with either 10% stripped corn oil, stripped lard, or coconut oil. By 7 wk, pentane production by rats fed a corn oil diet deficient in both vitamin E and selenium was twice that by rats fed 0.1 or 1 mg of selenium per kg of the same basal diet. Blood glutathione peroxidase activity after 7 wk was proportional to the logarithm of dietary selenium. Groups of rats fed the vitamin E- and selenium-deficient diets with lard or coconut oil had one-half the pentane production of rats fed the vitamin E- and selenium-deficient corn oil diets. The plasma level of linoleic plus arachidonic acid was 1.8 time greater on a wt % basis in rats fed corn oil than in rats fed lard or coconut oil as the fat source. Pentane production by rats fed 40 i.u. dl-alpha tocopherol acetate per kg of the selenium-deficient corn oil diet was one-sixth of that by rats fed the same diet without vitamin E; the plasma of the rats fed the vitamin E-supplemented corn oil diet had a level of vitamin E that was about six times greater than that of the rats fed the vitamin E-deficient corn oil diet.

Influence of Alpha Tocopherol on Implantation in Old Rats.

Summary1. The implantation rate in female rats on a purified diet containing about .1-.4 mg of tocopherols per 100 g diet was compared with the implantation rates in animals on the same diet receiving single and continuous supplements of synthetic dl alpha tocopherol acetate.2. Failure of implantation was observed after the eighth month in females without tocopherol supplements. With continuous tocopherol administration, the implantation rate was normal after one year. Single post-mating tocopherol supplements increased the implantation rate in older rats significantly. The requirements necessary for successful implantation in older rats vary widely and increase steeply with age.3. Infections of the uterus and the tubes were frequently observed in the deficient rats, but not in those on the complete diet. Presence of infection does not explain the higher implantation rate after single post-mating tocopherol doses.4. The changes leading to the failure of implantation are prevented, but once present, only p...