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Low doses of eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and hypolipidemic eicosapentaenoic acid derivatives have no effect on lipid peroxidation in plasma
Author(s) -
Vaagenes Hege,
Muna Ziad A.,
Madsen Lise,
Berge Rolf K.
Publication year - 1998
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/s11745-998-0315-6
Subject(s) - lipid peroxidation , eicosapentaenoic acid , chemistry , docosahexaenoic acid , malondialdehyde , polyunsaturated fatty acid , medicine , vitamin e , antioxidant , xanthine oxidase , endocrinology , biochemistry , fatty acid , biology , enzyme
It was of interest to investigate the influence of both high doses of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and low doses of 2‐or 3‐methylated EPA on the antioxidant status, as they all cause hypolipidemia, but the dose required is quite different. We fed low doses (250 mg/d/kg body wt) of different EPA derivatives or high doses (1500 mg/d/kg body wt) of EPA and DHA to rats for 5 and 7 d, respectively. The most potent hypolipidemic EPA derivative, 2,2‐dimethyl‐EPA, did not change the malondialdehyde content in liver or plasma. Plasma vitamin E decreased only after supplementation of those EPA derivatives that caused the greatest increase in the fatty acyl‐CoA oxidase activity. Fatty acyl‐CoA oxidase activity increased after administration of both EPA and DHA at high doses. High doses of EPA and DHA decreased plasma vitamin E content, whereas only DHA elevated lipid peroxidation. In liver, however, both EPA and DHA increased lipid peroxidation, but the hepatic level of vitamin E was unchanged. The glutathione‐requiring enzymes and the glutathione level were unaffected, and no significant changes in the activities of xanthine oxidase and superoxide dismutase were observed in either low‐or high‐dose experiments. In conclusion, increased peroxisomal β‐oxidation in combination with high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids caused elevated lipid peroxidation. At low doses of polyunsaturated fatty acids, lipid peroxidation was unchanged, in spite of increased peroxisomal β‐oxidation, indicating that polyunsaturation is the most important factor for lipid peroxidation.