[Effect of combined vitamin D and E deficiencies on calcium metabolism and bone tissue of the rat].

In experiments on young rats a study was made of the influence of combined vitamin D and E deficiency on biochemical signs of rickets. It was shown that in intact animals vitamin E deficiency induced moderate hypocalcemia, a tendency to decreased Ca active transport in the small intestine and mineral saturation of the bone tissue, as well as a significantly increased Ca content in the skeletal muscles and heart. The concentration of 25-oxyvitamin D (25-OVD) in the blood serum of these animals was not changed. Combined vitamin D and E deficiency intensified disorders typical for rickets; sometimes synergy of such a negative effect was recorded. A delay in the recovery of Ca metabolism parameters, bone tissue condition and 25-OVD circulating concentration persisted, when the animals with vitamin D and E deficiency were injected cholecalciferol during 6 days. The data obtained have evidenced a possible role of vitamin E deficiency in the rickets development, that is, probably, mediated, to a certain extent, by its influence on metabolism and (or) biochemical function of vitamin D.