Effect of Chronic Ethanol Feeding on Hepatic and Extrahepatic Distribution of Vitamin E in Rats

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Abstract
The effect of chronic ethanol feeding on the status of α‐ and γ‐ tocopherol in plasma, liver, lung, and testes of Sprague‐Dawley rats was characterized. Rats were pair‐fed liquid diets containing 36% of total calories either as ethanol or isocaloric carbohydrates. After 3 weeks, ethanol ingestion resulted in a significant (p≤ 0.05) increase in liver weight and induced fatty liver without affecting total body weight. Ethanol feeding did not affect the plasma concentration of α‐tocopherol but doubled that of γ‐tocopherol. When expressed per milligram of tissue, liver α‐tocopherol did not vary with ethanol ingestion, whereas γ‐tocopherol concentration increased 2.5 times that of control animals. However, the concentration of α‐tocopherol expressed per milligram of total lipids was significantly (p≤ 0.01) decreased in the liver with ethanol feeding. In contrast to the liver, ethanol feeding significantly increased α‐ and γ‐tocopherol levels per milligram of total lipids in the testes. The concentration of γ‐ tocopherol (but not α‐tocopherol) per milligram of lung tissue and per total lung was significantly (p≤ 0.05) increased with ethanol feeding. These data indicate that chronic ethanol ingestion significantly alters the distribution of α‐tocopherol and γ‐tocopherol in hepatic and extrahepatic tissues of the rat.