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Effect of an Oral Dose of Vitamin E on the Vitamin E and Cholesterol Content of Tissues of the Vitamin E-Deficient Rat¹

Hisayuki Kaseki^*, Edward Y. Kim, Ronald L. Whisler and David G. Cornwell^*,2

^* Department of Physiological Chemistry Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210

Weanling rats (female Sprague-Dawley) were fed until maturity a vitamin E-deficient diet or the deficient diet supplemented with 66 IU RRR--tocopheryl acetate/kg. Vitamin E, vitamin E quinone and total cholesterol levels in plasma, liver, paraovarian adipose tissue, lung, ovary and adrenal tissue were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Vitamin E levels were greatly diminished, but cholesterol levels were unchanged in all tissues except adipose tissue of animals fed the deficient diet. Vitamin E-deficient animals received a single oral dose of 2 or 16.7 mg of RRR--tocopherol, and tissues were examined at 12 and 48 h. Plasma and liver formed a vitamin E pool that peaked at 12 h, had a high vitamin E/cholesterol ratio at 12 h and contained only trace amounts of vitamin E quinone. Adipose tissue, lung, ovary and adrenal concentrated vitamin E throughout the 48-h period, had low vitamin E/cholesterol ratios and contained small but significant amounts of vitamin E quinone. Vitamin E levels (micrograms/gram) at 48 h in lung, ovary and adrenal were higher than the vitamin E level in liver but the liver contained much more vitamin E (micrograms/organ) than the other tissues combined. Cholesterol levels (micrograms/gram) in plasma and liver decreased 45 to 55% in a dose- and time-dependent manner when a single oral dose of vitamin E was administered to deficient animals. Cholesterol levels in adipose tissue, lung and ovary were unchanged while the cholesterol level in adrenal increased 122% in a time-dependent manner with a single oral dose of vitamin E. These data show that a single oral dose of vitamin E has a profound effect on cholesterol levels in short-time experiments with the vitamin E-deficient rat. This rat model is appropriate for studies on the relationship between vitamin E and cholesterol metabolism in plasma, liver and the adrenal.

KEY WORDS: • vitamin E deficiency • vitamin E • vitamin E quinone • total cholesterol • tissue levels

¹ Supported in part by a grant from the Esai Company, Ltd., Tokyo, 112, Japan.

² Author to whom reprint requests should be addressed.

Manuscript received 18 October 1985. Revision accepted 21 March 1986.