Phospholipid peroxidation is considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of various diseases. While dietary antioxidants are believed to help prevent these diseases via inhibition of phospholipid peroxidation, further evaluation is needed to prove this hypothesis. For this, it is crucial to establish an animal model with accelerated phospholipid peroxidation. In this study, we hypothesized that a combination of aging and high-fat diet feeding may accelerate phospholipid peroxidation in vivo. High-fat diets were fed to mature and juvenile Fischer 344 rats for 12 weeks. The mature rats in particular accumulated body fat and liver phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (PCOOH). Interestingly, the increase in PCOOH levels was abrogated by the co-administration of antioxidants to mature rats. This may be attributed to factors including the decrease in body fat, functions of vitamin E, and/or the involvement of antioxidant-related genes, each caused by antioxidant administration. These results indicate that the high-fat diet-fed aging animal model may be suitable for investigation of the relationship between phospholipid peroxidation, oxidative stress-related diseases, and dietary antioxidants.
Keywords: antioxidant; liver; oxidative stress; phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide; rat.