1981 Volume 27 Issue 3 Pages 199-207
The plasma and red blood cell (RBC) levels of alphatocopherol in rats were determined in association with hemolysis induced by dialuric acid for a 7-week period of tocopherol deprivation following a 2-week period on tocopherol-containing diet.
The patterns of decreases in plasma and RBC levels during the 7-week period were similar, differing in one respect. The RBC levels were characterized by a prompt decrease to non-detectable levels in the 4th week, while at that time a plasma level of 100μg/dl, albeit low, was maintained during the subsequent two weeks. Consequently, tocopherol ratios of RBC to plasma lowered throughout the experimental course. As for the relationship between these levels and hemolysis values, nonhemolysis was recorded in animals whose minimum RBC and plasma levels were 40μg/dl packed cell and 180μg/dl, respectively. This experiment showed that the plasma tocopherol level which has traditionally been accepted as the only index of hemolysis values does not always reflect them, and that in animals with hemolysis, only .RBC tocopherol levels were found to reflect hemolysis values.
