Effect of dietary ascorbic acid and vitamin E on metabolic changes in rats and guinea pigs exposed to PCB.
The effect of the addition of dietary ascorbic acid and/or vitamin E (all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate) in rats and guinea pigs exposed to PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) was studied. Rats were fed diets containing one of three levels of vitamin E (30, 500 or 1000 mg/kg diet) with or without PCB (200 mg/kg diet). Guinea pigs were fed diets containing PCB (40 mg/kg diet) with 200 or 1000 mg ascorbic acid/kg diet and/or 70 or 2000 mg vitamin E/kg diet. For rats fed PCB, ascorbic acid in urine was 40-fold higher and in liver, 2-fold higher than for rats fed no PCB, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBA-RS, indicators of lipid peroxidation) in liver was 1.5-fold higher. In rats fed PCB, high dietary vitamin E significantly lowered the urinary ascorbic acid and TBA-RS. Liver ascorbic acid was lowered by high dietary vitamin E only in control rats. In guinea pigs, feeding PCB caused severe growth retardation and the liver TBA-RS was 1.8-fold higher than in guinea pigs not fed PCB. Feeding high levels of both ascorbic acid and vitamin E was more effective in reversing the growth depression and in lowering TBA-RS level (due to PCB) than feeding the vitamins separately. Ascorbic acid metabolism in rats was affected by high dietary vitamin E. The possibility of a higher requirement for ascorbic acid and vitamin E in guinea pigs exposed to PCB was indicated. Interaction of ascorbic acid and vitamin E in animals exposed to PCB was suggested.
Kawai-Kobayashi
K
K
Yoshida
A
A
D000818:Animals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D006128:Growth / Q000187:drug effects; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008054:Lipid Peroxides / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008660:Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013858:Thiobarbiturates; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000494:pharmacology*
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008054:Lipid Peroxides; D013858:Thiobarbiturates; D014280:Triglycerides; D014810:Vitamin E; D002784:Cholesterol; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; C029684:thiobarbituric acid; D001205:Ascorbic Acid