Nutr Res Pract.  2013 Apr;7(2):109-114.

Effects of vitamin C and E supplementation on oxidative stress and liver toxicity in rats fed a low-fat ethanol diet

• Lee SJ
• Kim SY
• Min H

Abstract

We compared the preventive capacity of high intakes of vitamin C (VC) and vitamin E (VE) on oxidative stress and liver toxicity in rats fed a low-fat ethanol diet. Thirty-two Wistar rats received the low fat (10% of total calories) Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet as follows: either ethanol alone (Alc group, 36% of total calories) or ethanol in combination with VC (Alc + VC group, 40 mg VC/100 g body weight) or VE (Alc + VE group, 0.8 mg VE/100 g body weight). Control rats were pair-fed a liquid diet with the Alc group. Ethanol administration induced a modest increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), conjugated dienes (CD), and triglycerides but decreased total radical-trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP) in plasma. VE supplementation to alcohol-fed rats restored the plasma levels of AST, CD, and TRAP to control levels. However, VC supplementation did not significantly influence plasma ALT, AST, or CD. In addition, a significant increase in plasma aminothiols such as homocysteine and cysteine was observed in the Alc group, but cysteinylglycine and glutathione (GSH) did not change by ethanol feeding. Supplementing alcohol-fed rats with VC increased plasma GSH and hepatic S-adenosylmethionine, but plasma levels of aminothiols, except GSH, were not influenced by either VC or VE supplementation in ethanol-fed rats. These results indicate that a low-fat ethanol diet induces oxidative stress and consequent liver toxicity similar to a high-fat ethanol diet and that VE supplementation has a protective effect on ethanol-induced oxidative stress and liver toxicity.

Keyword

Ethanol; low fat diet; vitamin E & C; oxidative stress; liver toxicity

MeSH Terms

Alanine Transaminase
Animals
Ascorbic Acid
Aspartate Aminotransferases
Cysteine
Diet
Dipeptides
Ethanol
Glutathione
Homocysteine
Liver
Oxidative Stress
Plasma
Rats
Rats, Wistar
S-Adenosylmethionine
Triglycerides
Vitamin E
Vitamins
Alanine Transaminase
Ascorbic Acid
Aspartate Aminotransferases
Cysteine
Dipeptides
Ethanol
Glutathione
Homocysteine
S-Adenosylmethionine
Triglycerides
Vitamin E
Vitamins

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