| Abstract: | α-tocopherol is the major lipid-soluble radical-scavenging antioxidant in rat liver. It has long been used as a putative protective agent in CC14 induced liver injury but with variable results. We have used a-tocopherol loaded rat liver microsomes to study the effect of this vitamin on CC14 metabolism in vitro. As expected, a-tocopherol inhibits CC14-dependent microsomal lipid peroxidation and, at a very high concentration, will inhibit the covalent binding of CC1,- to microsomal protein by up to 50%. No inhibitory effect was observed towards CC13 production as measured by the electron spin resonance technique of spin-trapping but this apparent discrepancy may represent a limitation of the technique. The high levels required to inhibit covalent binding probably preclude the likelihood of a-tocopherol significantly affecting that phenomenon at endogenous concentrations but may be relevant to other experiments employing high doses of a-tocopherol as an experimental hepatoprotective agent. |
