Effects of dietary oils and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide on in vivo lipid peroxidation and antioxidants in rat heart and liver.

Weanling male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets for four weeks which differed in their content of n-6 (corn oil; CO) and n-3 fatty acids (fish oil; FO), but were similar in their content of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E. At the end of the four-week feeding period, each dietary group was subdivided into two groups. One group received a single placebo injection of alpha-tocopherol-stripped corn oil (TSCO); the other group received a single injection of the free radical generator; methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP), in TSCO. Twenty-four hours after injection, the effect of dietary oil and MEKP treatment on endogenous lipid peroxide (LPO) production (measured as methylene blue formed by the "Determiner LPO" assay), glutathione (GSH) and vitamin E content, and fatty acid composition of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in heart and liver from unfasted animals were measured. FO-fed rats had significantly heavier hearts and livers, increased levels of n-3 fatty acids in membrane phospholipids, and higher liver LPO levels than CO-fed rats. MEKP treatment resulted in significantly lower body weights and liver GSH levels. The data indicate that dietary n-3 fatty acids increase lipid peroxidation in liver somewhat more than in heart. The study also demonstrates that the effect of induced oxidative stress due to a single dose of MEKP on lipid peroxide formation and antioxidant status in tissues from unfasted animals was independent of the dietary oils.