Effect of High Doses of Dietary Vitamin E on the Concentrations of Vitamin E in Several Brain Regions, Plasma, Liver, and Adipose Tissue of Rats

Abstract: The object of this study was to assess the influence of high levels of dietary vitamin E on vitamin E concentrations in specific areas of the brain. Four‐week‐old male rats were fed vitamin E‐deficient, control, and high‐vitamin E (1,000 IU/kg) diets for 4 months. Concentrations of α‐tocopherol in serum, adipose tissue, liver, cerebrum, cerebellum, and striatum were determined by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. In the high‐vitamin E group, α‐tocopherol concentrations in cerebrum, cerebellum, and striatum increased uniformly to 1.4‐fold of values in controls; serum, adipose tissue, and liver attained even higher concentrations: 2.2‐, 2.2‐, and 4.6‐fold, respectively, of control values. As observed before, brain levels of α‐tocopherol were somewhat resistant to vitamin E deficiency, in contrast to the peripheral tissues.