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Oral contraceptive‐α‐tocopherol interrelationships
Author(s) -
Aftergood L.,
AlfinSlater R. B.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/bf02532132
Subject(s) - weanling , vitamin e , medicine , oral administration , tocopherol , endocrinology , dosing , vitamin , physiology , pharmacology , antioxidant , chemistry , biochemistry
After observing that some of the side effects of the administration of oral contraceptive drugs to rats resemble those resulting from vitamin E deficiency, a possibility of an increased requirement for vitamin E during oral contraceptive therapy was considered. Female rats were kept on the following diets all of which contained 15% stripped corn oil: (A) basal (no tocopherol), (B) basal + α‐tocopherol to provide 1 mg/rat/day, (C) basal+butylated hydroxytoluene, and (D) basal with the α‐tocopherol given only during drug administration. At 13 weeks of age, Enovid E was administered orally at a level corresponding to 0.002 mg mestranol and 0.05 mg norethynodrel/day for either 4 or 28 days, at which time the rats were sacrificed. In addition to previously shown changes, lowering of plasma tocopherol levels was observed in rats receiving the drug. On the other hand, the effects of an oral contraceptive were not as drastic in vitamin E deficient rats. Possible implications of these findings are discussed.