Effect of ascorbic acid and vitamin E on biochemical changes associated with vitamin E deficiency in rats

Weanling male Sprague Dawley rats were fed a vitamin E and C-free basal diet with or without supplementation of 100 IU vitamin E per kg diet. After 20 weeks, the vitamin E-deficient rats were divided into four groups, six in each group, and received supplemental ascorbic acid and/or vitamin E by tube feeding daily for 7 days: Group I, 30 mg ascorbic acid/100 g body wt.; Group II, 0.03 mg RRR-alpha-tocopheryl acetate/100 g body wt.; Group III, 30 mg ascorbic acid and 0.03 mg RRR-alpha-tocopheryl acetate/100 g body wt.; and Group IV, placebo. The six control rats (Group V) received placebo. The rats were sacrificed, blood and liver samples were collected for biochemical determinations. Vitamin E deficiency significantly increased erythrocyte (RBC) spontaneous hemolysis, liver thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, activities of glutamateoxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), pyruvate kinase (PK), and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in plasma, and significantly lowered plasma vitamin E levels and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activities. Tube-feeding ascorbic acid for 7 days produced partial reversal effect on liver TBA values, activities of plasma PK, GOT, CPK, and plasma vitamin E levels but not on RBC hemolysis and plasma GPX activity. Tube feeding both ascorbic acid and vitamin E showed similar partial reversal effect as feeding vitamin E alone on all the parameters stated above. The results suggest that ascorbic acid may spare the metabolism of vitamin E and partially reverse the changes in some of the biochemical parameters characteristic of vitamin E deficiency.