Lack of effect of dietary alpha-tocopherol on chemically induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats

Dietary antioxidants in the prevention of hepatocarcinogenesis: a review

In this review, the role of dietary antioxidants in the prevention of hepatocarcinogenesis is examined. Both human and animal models are discussed. Vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium are antioxidants that are essential in the human diet. A number of non-essential chemicals also contain antioxidant activity and are consumed in the human diet, mainly as plants or as supplements, including beta-carotene, ellagic acid, curcumin, lycopene, coenzyme Q(10), epigallocatechin gallate, N-acetyl cysteine, and resveratrol. Although some human and animal studies show protection against carcinogenesis with the consumption of higher amounts of antioxidants, many studies show no effect or an enhancement of carcinogenesis. Because of the conflicting results from these studies, it is difficult to make dietary recommendations as to whether consuming higher amounts of specific antioxidants will decrease the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma.

Vitamin E inhibits hepatic NF-kappaB activation in rats administered the hepatic tumor promoter, phenobarbital

Phenobarbital (PB) is an efficacious hepatic tumor promoter. Although the promoting activity of PB is likely related to altered cell proliferation or apoptosis, the induction of an oxidative stress environment may also be important. PB has been shown to activate the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). In this study, we hypothesized that PB-induced NF-kappaB activation can be decreased by dietary vitamin E in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 39) were fed a purified diet with varying levels of dietary vitamin E (10, 50 or 250 mg/kg of dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate) for 28 d, at which time 8 rats per level of dietary vitamin E were fed the same diet with 500 mg/kg PB for 10 d. In the rats fed the low vitamin E diet, PB increased NF-kappaB DNA binding, but it did not affect NF-kappaB activation in rats fed higher levels of vitamin E (50 and 250 mg/kg). Vitamin E may decrease the oxidative stress created by PB by also enhancing other antioxidants; therefore, we also measured hepatic glutathione S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and NAD(P)H:quinone reductase (DT-diaphorase) activities and glutathione and ascorbic acid concentrations. Increased dietary alpha-tocopherol did not affect the antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes altered by PB treatment. Thus, the effect of alpha-tocopherol acetate on NF-kappaB activation does not appear to be mediated by alterations in the antioxidant system. These results demonstrate that the activation of NF-kappaB, a transcription factor that affects cell proliferation- and apoptosis-related gene expression, can be inhibited by dietary vitamin E.