Effect of dietary vitamin E on the aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity of various tissues in rat

Weanling male Sprague Dawley rats were maintained on a vitamin-E deficient basal diet with or without supplementation of 100 ppm vitamin E per kg diet. The animals were sacrificed after 12 months and S-9000 xg microsomal supernatants were prepared from liver, testes, skeletal muscle, heart and kidney tissues. High spontaneous hemolysis of erythrocytes and low levels of plasma vitamin E confirmed the deficiency status of rats in the deficient group. Aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity determinations on tissue S-9000 xg supernatants showed that while there was a slight reduction in the hepatic AHH, a marked increase in the AHH activity of other tissues occurred. The results obtained suggest a differential effect of dietary vitamin E on the tissue AHH activity in rats.