Plasma and hepatic antioxidant control and vitamin A nutritional status.

Twenty-seven rats were divided into three groups and fed on diets containing 0.3, 6 or 60 RE (retinol equivalent) retinyl palmitate/g food. After 7 weeks, hepatic vitamin A uptake was found to be more efficient in vitamin A-deficient rats than in rats given adequate vitamin A. We showed that during the metabolic adaptation of the animals to the level of vitamin A in the diet, extensive modifications occur in the antioxidant defences of the organism. In parallel with the increase in the level of vitamin A, the decrease in the level of alpha-tocopherol in the plasma can bring about a greater susceptibility of the lipoproteins to oxidative stress. Similarly, the decrease in the hepatic alpha-tocopherol level and in glutathione peroxidase activity leads to the weakening of the liver's antioxidant defences.