Nutritional Studies on Hardened Fish Oil. VIII.

Effects of α-Tocopherol and α-Tocotrienol on L-Ascorbic Acid Biosynthesis and Fatty Acid Profiles of Tissue Lipids in Rats Fed Hardened Fish Oil

Abstract

The effects of α-tocopherol (α-Toc) and α-tocotrienol (α-Toc 3) on the urinary excretion of L-ascorbic acid and on the fatty acid profiles of.tissue lipids were studied in rats fed hardened fish oil (HFO). Young male rats were fed diets containing 19. 4% HFO and 0. 6% safflower oil supplemented either with α-Toc or α-Toc 3 (200 mg/100 g diet, respectively) for 28 days. The addition of α-Toc 3 and in particular α-Toc suppressed a transient increase in relative liver weight, and the urinary excretion of L-ascorbic acid, this being associated with stimulation of its biosynthesis. However, neither α-Toc nor α-Toc 3 influenced the concentration of cholesterol or triglyceride in liver and the serum, and the fatty acid profiles of liver and its subcellular lipids. Long-chain trans-fatty acids characteristic of HFO, such as t-20 : 1 and t-22 : 1, were virtually undetectable in the liver lipids