α-Tocopherol Protects the Heart, Muscles, and Testes from Lipid Peroxidation in Growing Male Rats Subjected to Physical Efforts

Magdalena Górnicka; Anna Ciecierska; Jadwiga Hamulka; Małgorzata E Drywień; Joanna Frackiewicz; Krzysztof Górnicki; Agata Wawrzyniak

doi:10.1155/2019/8431057

α-Tocopherol Protects the Heart, Muscles, and Testes from Lipid Peroxidation in Growing Male Rats Subjected to Physical Efforts

Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019 Jul 24:2019:8431057. doi: 10.1155/2019/8431057. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Magdalena Górnicka¹, Anna Ciecierska¹, Jadwiga Hamulka¹, Małgorzata E Drywień¹, Joanna Frackiewicz¹, Krzysztof Górnicki², Agata Wawrzyniak¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw 02-776, Poland.
² Department of Fundamental Engineering, Faculty of Production Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw 02-787, Poland.

Abstract

The effect of α-tocopherol supplementation on adaptation to training is still equivocal. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of training and α-tocopherol supplementation on α-tocopherol and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) concentration in the rat liver, heart, muscles, and testes. Male Wistar rats (n = 32) were divided into four groups (nonsupplemented, not trained-C; nonsupplemented, trained-CT; supplemented, not trained-E; supplemented and trained-ET). During the 14-day experimental period, 2 mg/d of vitamin E as α-tocopherol acetate was administered to the animals (groups E and ET). Rats in the training group (CT and ET) were subjected to 15 minutes of treadmill running each day. The α-tocopherol levels in rat tissues were assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Lipid peroxides were determined by TBARS spectrophotometric method. α-Tocopherol had a significant impact on α-tocopherol concentration in all tissues. Training increased the α-tocopherol concentration in the heart and muscles but reduced it in the liver. Training also caused increased lipid peroxidation in the muscles, heart, and testes; but a higher α-tocopherol content in tissues reduced the TBARS level. The main finding of the study is that impaired α-tocopherol status and its adequate intake is needed to maintain optimal status to prevent damage to the skeletal and cardiac muscles as well as the testes in growing individuals.