title: Effect of chronic consumption of ethanol and vitamin E on fatty acid composition and lipid peroxidation in rat heart tissue.
abstract: Lipid peroxidation products and the fatty acid composition of phospholipids were studied in the hearts of rats chronically consuming ethanol supplemented with large amounts of vitamin E. Ethanol representing 36% of the total calories was ingested for 7 weeks in a modified Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet that contained vitamin E at 30 IU/L in the control or 172 IU/L in the supplemental dietary group. Ethanol and/or vitamin E did not change the absolute content (micrograms per mg of phospholipids) of the main fatty acids (C18:0, C18:2, and C20:4) of heart phospholipids but increased the amount of the minor C20-C22 fatty acids. Cardiac phospholipid levels increased in rats chronically consuming excess vitamin E and/or alcohol. Chronic ethanol consumption caused elevations of the relative content (percent of total fatty acids) of tri-, tetra-, and hexaenoic acids and peroxidizability index (PI) of the cardiac phospholipids. Supplementation with vitamin E blocked this ethanol-induced shift in the fatty acid profile toward unsaturation and decreased the PI. Ethanol enhanced accumulation of vitamin E in heart tissue by 30% irrespective of the vitamin E content in the diet. Enrichment of the diet with vitamin E coincided with the low levels of fluorescent products in heart lipids. A positive correlation (r = 0.36; p = 2%) was found between vitamin E and diene conjugates in the heart cells. Thus, vitamin E has a stabilizing effect on heart phospholipids by preventing changes in their fatty acid composition and peroxidative deterioration.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Medico-Biological Problems of Addictions, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Pirozhkov
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Eskelson
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Piotrowski
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bernhard
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D019787:Linoleic Acid; D008041:Linoleic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013229:Stearic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D008041:Linoleic Acids; D010743:Phospholipids; D013229:Stearic Acids; D014810:Vitamin E; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D000431:Ethanol; C031183:stearic acid; D019787:Linoleic Acid