On the Function and Metabolism of Vitamin E

Abstract

It has been found that rats carried through resorption-gestation when fed vitamin E-deficient diets will respond in a second reproduction cycle to the antioxidants N,N′-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPPD) and 1,2-dihydro-6-ethoxy-2,2,4-trimethylquinoline (ethoxyquin), but not to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) nor acid-reduced ubiquinone (ubichromanol), by bearing live young. In addition, following resorption-gestation due to vitamin E deficiency in the original dams, rats have been carried through two litters in the second generation when fed vitamin E-free diets containing DPPD. The livers and carcasses of rats receiving DPPD, of control rats fed a stock diet, of vitamin E-deficient rats, of rats on ethoxyquin, and of rats receiving high levels of α-tocopherol were all found to contain a material which reacts with α,α′-dipyridyl and is usually assumed to be vitamin E. However, it was found chromatographically that, in fact, while all animals contained a new reducing compound (compound X), only the animals given high levels of α-tocopherol contained vitamin E in addition to compound X. When DPPD and ethoxyquin were fed, these compounds, in addition to the unknown compound X, were found chromatographically in the livers of the animals.