Protective effect of vitamin E against lipoperoxides in developing rats.

Pregnant rats were fed a vitamin E-supplemented diet, and blood and liver tissue concentrations of lipoperoxides were determined in fetuses and newborn rats. For comparison, a standard diet and a vitamin E-deficient diet were given to different animal groups. Fetal rats of all three groups showed very low blood and liver tissue levels of lipoperoxides, and there were no apparent intergroup differences. However, the levels increased sharply immediately after birth in the vitamin E-deficient rats, with the blood level being 4 times greater than in the other groups 10 days after birth, and the liver level 6 times greater than in the other groups 3 days after birth. Thus, vitamin E was revealed to be an important protective factor against abnormal synthesis and accumulation of lipoperoxides in liver tissues, particularly during the early stages after birth.