Tocopherols in camel's plasma and tissues

Plasma and tissues' concentration of alpha- gamma- and delta-tocopherol were estimated in 25 male camels. alpha-Tocopherol was the predominant form of vitamin E in plasma and tissues. gamma-Tocopherol was present in all studied tissues, except skeletal muscle and plasma. While delta-tocopherol was found only in the hump, no traces of beta-tocopherol were detected in plasma or in tissues. Plasma vitamin E level in camel was found to be lower than in other ruminants, which may be attributed to nutritional factors. Tocopherols distribution pattern varied among tissues, which may be a reflection of the variation in tocopherols depletion rate. Hump was estimated to contain a large quantity of vitamin E (50 mg) which may serve as storage site of vitamin E. The relationships of lipid levels to tocopherol levels were also studied. Plasma vitamin E correlated positively with cholesterol and total lipids, but tissues' vitamin E inconsistently correlated with them, which may indicate that the relationship of lipid levels to tocopherol levels in tissues is less significant, in evaluating nutritional status, than in plasma. delta-Tocopherol and cholesterol showed a reverse relationship in hump that may suggest a special function of delta-tocopherol in camel hump. The presence of a strong positive correlation between alpha- and gamma-tocopherol in some tissues (liver, heart, and spleen) may suggest the absence of a alpha-tocopherol depressing effect on gamma-tocopherol in some camel's tissues. Positive associations between tissues in their alpha-tocopherol concentration were also observed, but it was less defined in gamma-tocopherol.