The effects of vitamin E deficiency on the total fatty acids and the phospholipid fatty acids of rat tissues

Abstract

1. A vitamin E-low diet containing 7% stripped lard was given to hooded rats for periods up to 14 months. Control rats were given the same diet with a vitamin E supplement (I i.u./rat per day).2. No consistent pattern of changes was found in the total fatty acids of testis, lung, spleen, pancreas, heart, kidney, liver, brain, skeletal muscle and small intestine from rats given the deficient diet for 5, 6 or 7 months when compared with control rats.3. The fatty acids of the total phospholipid from the same tissues were examined after 4, 5, 8 or 14 months. In the rats deficient in vitamin E the polyunsaturated fatty acids of the linoleic series (ω6) decreased, except for 20:4ω6, which in some tissues tended to increase. After 14 months there were considerable decreases in the percentages of all theω6 series including 20:4ω6 with increases in the percentages of 18:1ω9 and 20:3ω9 the pattern was similar to that found in essential fatty acid deficiency.