Effects of high-cholesterol diet and antioxidant vitamins combination on oxidant/antioxidant status in heart, kidney, liver and testis tissues from rats.

摘要

Possible effects of a high-cholesterol diet on the oxidant/antioxidant status in various tissues from rats and the effects of the combination of vitamins C and E on these parameters and on hypercholesterolaemia were investigated. 24 Sprague-Dawley type rats were randomly divided into 3 groups. The control group (group 1) was fed on a rat pellet diet. The study groups (groups 2 and 3) were fed on a high-cholesterol diet for 3 months. Rats in group 3 were supplemented with vitamins C (100 mg/kg intraperitoneally ) and E (60 mg/kg intramuscularly ) 3x a wk throughout the study. At the end of the study period, all animals were sacrificed and their heart, kidney, liver and testis surgically removed to measure oxidant and antioxidant parameters. Blood samples were also obtained from the animals. It was observed that serum total cholesterol levels significantly increased in the study groups. However, the increase in the blood cholesterol level in group 3 was significantly lower than that in group 2. As to the oxidant-antioxidant parameters, there were different results among the tissues. In conclusion, these results suggest that high serum cholesterol level does not lead to oxidation reactions in the early phase of hypercholesterolaemia, and supplementation with antioxidant vitamins increases antioxidant potential values of the tissues and decreases the blood total cholesterol level in the cholesterol-supplemented animals. Thus, these antioxidant vitamins (vitamins C and E) may be useful in the prevention of hypercholesterolaemia.