Protective Effects of Vitamin E Analogs against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Fatty Liver in Rats

Recently, it has been reported that α-tocopherol (α-Toc) is effective for amelioration of liver damage. However, it is unknown whether other vitamin E analogs are effective. In this study, we investigated the effects of γ-tocopherol (γ-Toc) and tocotrienols (T3) in rats with fatty liver. Rats fed a vitamin E-deficient diet for four weeks were divided into eight groups: Control, carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)), α-Toc, α-Toc + CCl(4), γ-Toc, γ-Toc + CCl(4), T3 mix, T3 mix + CCl(4). After a 24 h fast, the rats were administered 20 mg of each of the vitamin E analogs, respectively. Moreover, the CCl(4) group were given 0.5 ml/kg body weight corn oil preparation containing CCl(4) 6 h after vitamin E administration. We measured the activities of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in plasma, and the contents of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (T-Chol) and vitamin E analogs in the liver. Also, we determined the hepatic expression of mRNA for inflammatory cytokines. The liver TG content in the γ-Toc + CCl(4) and T3 mix + CCl(4) groups was decreased in comparison with the CCl(4) group. Moreover, ALT activity in the T3 mix + CCl(4) group was significantly lower than CCl(4) group. These findings suggest that γ-Toc and T3 are effective for amelioration of fatty liver.