A Comparison on the Effectiveness of Catechins with Vitamin E in Lowering Lipid Peroxide Levels in the Lungs

Abstract

The effectiveness of catechins singly and in combination with vitamin E in lowering lipid peroxide levels in the lungs were examined. Five groups of mice were treated in a 50-day period as follows: feeding with regular rodent pellets without supplementation (for Groups 1 and 2), or supplemented with 75 mg catechins/kg body weight (for Group 3); 1.0 g vitamin E/kg body weight (for Group 4); and 75 mg catechins + 1.0 g vitamin E/kg body weight (for Group 5). On the 41st day until the end of the experiment, all mice, except those of Group 1, were exposed to cigarette smoke in an improvised smoke chamber for ten minutes daily. Following cervical dislocation, the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue homogenates were obtained from each mouse. The malonaldehyde (MDA) concentration and total protein content were then measured from all the samples. Results have shown that all catechin-supplemented mice, with or without vitamin E (Groups 3 and 5) had lipid peroxide levels similar to vitamin E-supplemented mice (Group 4), but were lower than those of the control mice. The interaction between catechins and vitamin E can be further investigated with future dose-dependent studies.