Effect of vitamin E and ozone on pentane and ethane expired by rats

Pentane and ethane, which arise during lipid peroxidation in vivo, were measured by gas chromatography in breath samples of rats fed for 8 weeks a vitamin E-deficient diet to which had been added 0, 11, or 40 IU vitamin E acetate per kg. Further lipid peroxidation was induced by exposure of individual rats to 1 ppm ozone for 60 min. Nonparametric statistical analysis of the data for pentane expired before exposure of rats to ozone gave alpha values (alpha = 2P) of 0.006 when the O vitamin E group was compared with either of the vitamin E-supplemented groups. For ethane, comparison of the O vitamin E group with the groups supplemented with 11 and 40 IU vitamin E/kg of diet were 0.0294 and 0.0080, respectively. Alpha values less than .05 were considered significant. After a 60-min exposure of rats to 1 ppm ozone, the paired t-test showed pentane to be significantly (P less than .005) increased in only the rats fed the vitamin E-deficient diet.