Effect of High Doses of Dietary Vitamin E on the Concentrations of Vitamin E in Several Brain Regions, Plasma, Liver, and Adipose Tissue of Rats

Abstract

The object of this study was to assess the influence of high levels of dietary vitamin E on vitamin E concentrations in specific areas of the brain. Four-week-old male rats were fed vitamin E-deficient, control, and high-vitamin E (1,000 IU/kg) diets for 4 months. Concentrations of α-tocopherol in serum, adipose tissue, liver, cerebrum, cerebellum, and striatum were determined by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. In the high-vitamin E group, α-tocopherol concentrations in cerebrum, cerebellum, and striatum increased uniformly to 1.4-fold of values in controls; serum, adipose tissue, and liver attained even higher concentrations: 2.2-, 2.2-, and 4.6-fold, respectively, of control values. As observed before, brain levels of α-tocopherol were somewhat resistant to vitamin E deficiency, in contrast to the peripheral tissues.