Studies on vitamin E. 6. The distribution of vitamin E in the rat and the effect of α-tocopherol and dietary selenium on ubiquinone and ubichromenol in tissues

Abstract

The distribution of vitamin E, vitamin A, ubiquinone and ubichromenol has been studied in 14 tissues of the rat. Tissues richest in vitamin E are usually richest in ubiquinone. High concentrations of vitamin E and ubiquinone are present in adrenal gland, heart, uterus and nerve. The vitamin E content of the tissues is affected by the nature of the diet. Tissues lost their vitamin E at different rates during depletion. Tissues such as adrenal gland and nerve retain high concentrations of tocopherol, whereas uterus and liver readily lose their tocopherol. The susceptibility of uterus to tocopherol depletion and administration is related to the gestation-resorption syndrome in the rat. The distribution of the 4 substances has been compared in 6-month-old and 13-month-old female rats and in males and females at 6 months. Female rats contain higher amounts of the 4 substances than male rats of the same age. Male and female vitamin E-deficient rats have lower concentrations of ubiquinone in their tissues than either the corresponding animals whose diet has been supplemented with vitamin E or animals on the stock diet. Oral administration of vitamin E to such deficient animals increases the ubiquinone concentration in their tissues. This increase in ubiquinone is often accompanied by a decrease in ubichromenol concentration, which tends to be elevated in the vitamin E-deficient rat. Dietary Se increases the concentration of ubiquinone in the same way as does a-tocopherol. It seems that there is a biosynthetlc relationship between tocopherol, Se, ubiquinone and ubichromenol. The specific syndrome of vitamin E deficiency in animals may be related to a local tissue deficiency of this vitamin.