Dietary vitamin E and pulmonary biochemical responses of rats to cigarette smoking

The effect of dietary vitamin E on cellular susceptibility to cigarette smoking was studied in rats. Young male rats maintained on a basal vitamin E-deficient diet with or without 100 ppm vitamin E supplementation for 4 or 5 weeks were exposed to either sham or cigarette smoke for up to 7 days. Higher animal mortality rate was observed in the animals fed the vitamin E-deficient diet than in the supplemented group when they were subjected to acute levels of cigarette smoking. Relative to the respective sham groups, a greater alteration of biochemical parameters, such as reduced glutathione (GSH) and related enzymes, was found in the lungs of smoked rats fed the deficient diet than in the supplemented group. Animal lungs exhibited a greater biochemical response to whole smoke than the gaseous phase of smoke. The results suggest that the nutritional status of vitamin E may influence the cellular susceptibility of rats to cigarette smoking.