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

Recently, it has been reported that alpha-tocopherol (alpha-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 gamma-tocopherol (gamma-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 (CCl4), alpha-Toc, alpha-Toc + CCl4, gamma-Toc, gamma-Toc + CCl4, T3 mix, T3 mix + CCl4. After a 24 h fast, the rats were administered 20 mg of each of the vitamin E analogs, respectively. Moreover, the CCl4 group were given 0.5 ml/kg body weight corn oil preparation containing CCl4 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 gamma-Toc + CCl4 and T3 mix + CCl4 groups was decreased in comparison with the CCl4 group. Moreover, ALT activity in the T3 mix + CCl4 group was significantly lower than CCl4 group. These findings suggest that gamma-Toc and T3 are effective for amelioration of fatty liver.