Vitamin B6 deficiency and dietary fats: effects on lipid composition and glutathione peroxidase activity in rat liver.

Dietary selenium, vitamin B6 and fatty acids modulate both tissue acyl composition by regulating polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism and antioxidant defences by influencing glutathione peroxidase activity. Alteration in the intake of one of them could therefore lead to different results depending on the intake of the others. To clarify this complex relationship, in the present study we have evaluated the modifications occurring in fatty acid composition and glutathione peroxidase activity in total liver and liver microsomes of rats fed diets containing the same amount of selenium, but different vitamin B6 content and fatty acid composition. Our data indicate that both acyl composition and glutathione peroxidase activity are greatly influenced not only by vitamin B6 deficiency, but also by the diet unsaturation degree. This study underlines that not only selenium availability but also other nutrients can modulate glutathione peroxidase activity.