Abstract
The net rates of uptake of “new” and loss of “old”2R,4′ R,8′ R-α-tocopherol (RRR-α-TOH, which is natural vitamin E) have been measured in the blood and in nine tissues of male guinea pigs over an eight week period by feeding diets containing deuterium-labelled α-tocopheryl acetate (d 6-RRR-α-TOAc). There was an initial two week “lead-in” period during which 24 animals [the “high” vitamin E (HE) group] received diets containing 36 mg of unlabelled (d 0)RRR-α-TOAc and 250 mg of ascorbic acid per kg diet, while another 24 animals [the “low” vitamin E (LE) group] received diets containing 5 mgd 0-RRR-α-TOAc and 250 mg ascorbic acid per kg diet. The HE group was then tivided into three equal subgroups, which were fed diets containing 36 mgd 6-RRR-α-TOAc and 5000 mg [the “high” vitamin C (HEHC) subgroup], 250 mg [the “normal” vitamin C (HENC) subgroup] and 50 mg [the “low” vitamin C (HELC) subgroup] ascorbic acid per kg diet. One animal from each group was sacrificed each week and the blood and tissues were analyzed ford 0- andd 6-RRR-α-TOH by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The LE group was similarly divided into three equal subgroups with animals receiving diets containing 5 mgd 6-RRR-α-TOAc and 5,000 mg (LEHC), 250 mg (LENC) and 50 mg (LELC) ascorbic acid per kg diet with a similar protocol being followed for sacrifice and analyses. In the HE group the totald 0-+d 6-)RRR-α-TOH concentrations in blood and tissues remained essentially constant over the eight week experiment, whereas in the LE group the totalRRR-α-TOH concentrations declined noticeably (except in the brain, an organ with a particularly slow turnover of vitamin E). There were no significant differences in the concentrations of “old”d 0-RRR-α-TOH nor in the concentrations of “new”d 6-RRR-α-TOH found in any tissue at a particular time between the HEHC, HENC and HELC subgroups, nor between the LEHC, LENC and LELC subgroups. We conclude that the long-postulated “spring” action of vitamin C on vitamin E, which is well documentedin vitro, is of negligible importancein vivo in guinea pigs that are not oxidatively stressed in comparison with the normal metabolic processes which consume vitamin E (e.g., by oxidizing it irreversibly) or elminate it from the body. This is true both for guinea pigs with an adequate, well-maintained vitamin E status and for guinea pigs which are receiving insufficient vitamin E to maintain their body stores.
The biokinetics of vitamin E uptake and loss in the HE guinea pigs are compared with analogous data for rats reported previously (Lipids 22, 163–172, 1987). For most guinea pig tissues the uptake of vitamin E under “steadystate” conditions was faster than for the comparable rat tissues. However, the brain was an exception with the turnover of vitamin E occurring at only one-third of the rate for the rat.
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Abbreviations
- AH2 :
-
vitamin C
- α-TOH:
-
α-tocopherol
- RRR-α-TOH:
-
2R,4′R,8′R-α-tocopherol
- RRR-α-TOAc:
-
RRR-α-tocopheryl acetate
- d0-RRR-α-TOH:
-
unlabelledRRR-α-tocopherol
- d3-RRR-α-TOH:
-
d3-RRR-(5-CD3)tocopherol
- d3-RRR-α-TOAc:
-
RRR-α-(5-CD3)tocopheryl acetate
- d6-RRR-α-TOH:
-
RRR-α-(5,7-(CD3)2)tocopherol
- d9-ambo-α-TOH:
-
2RS,4′R,8′R-α-(5,7,8-(CD3)3)tocopherol
- t 1∶1 :
-
equalization time
- LE:
-
low vitamin E
- HE:
-
high vitamin E
- LELC:
-
low E, low (vitamin) C
- LENC:
-
low E, normal C
- LEHC:
-
low E, high C
- HELC:
-
high E, low C
- HENC:
-
high E, normal C
- HEHC:
-
high E, high C
- α-TO• :
-
α-tocopheroxyl radical
- RBC:
-
red blood cells
- ROO• :
-
peroxyl radical
- ROOH:
-
hydroperoxide
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Burton, G.W., Wronska, U., Stone, L. et al. Biokinetics of dietaryRRR-α-tocopherol in the male guinea pig at three dietary levels of vitamin C and two levels of vitamin E. Evidence that vitamin C does not “spare” vitamin Ein vivo . Lipids 25, 199–210 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02535748
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02535748