Dietary supplements of vitamin E, beta-carotene, coenzyme Q10 and selenium protect tissues against lipid peroxidation in rat tissue slices.

A tissue slice model was employed to assess the effects of dietary antioxidant supplements on lipid peroxidation. In one experiment, rats were fed diets containing, either alone or in combination, vitamin E, selenium, beta-carotene or coenzyme Q10 for 42 d, and the extent of spontaneous and induced lipid peroxidation was determined by release of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) into the medium. Vitamin E exhibited the greatest protection against lipid peroxidation in liver, heart and spleen; in kidney, selenium was most protective. Coenzyme Q10 was active against lipid peroxidation induced by tertbutyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP). In a second experiment, rats were fed diets containing varying amounts of vitamin E, selenium, beta-carotene and coenzyme Q10 for 30 d. Spontaneous lipid peroxidation in liver, kidney and heart decreased with increasing levels of dietary antioxidants. With increasing amounts of antioxidants, there was a diminution in TBARS released by liver and kidney slices incubated with t-BHP; in heart, only the highest levels of antioxidants significantly decreased production of TBARS. Inverse correlations between dietary vitamin E and TBARS, tissue vitamin E and TBARS, and tissue selenium-glutathione peroxidase and TBARS were highly significant. The procedure used here can evaluate dietary supplements that may find practical applications in decreasing the oxidant radical portion of disease processes.