TISSUE ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL STATUS DURING LATE FETAL AND EARLY NEONATAL LIFE OF THE GUINEA-PIG

The alpha-tocopherol content of a number of different fetal, neonatal and maternal guinea-pig tissues was determined and compared with plasma and erythrocyte alpha-tocopherol values. During late gestation, the fetal liver appears to act as a storage site for alpha-tocopherol, the majority of which is released immediately following birth. In contrast, lung and brain vitamin E levels are relatively constant over the final period of gestation and during early neonatal life. The ontogeny of alpha-tocopherol in brain and lung was similar to that for erythrocytes while plasma alpha-tocopherol content varied considerably and did not accurately reflect tissue alpha-tocopherol status. Surprisingly, fetal and maternal lung alpha-tocopherol concentrations were similar at all time-points considered, whereas fetal liver alpha-tocopherol status was always considerably greater than maternal liver alpha-tocopherol content. These results, if representative of the human fetus, suggest that preterm infants may not have tissue alpha-tocopherol concentrations as low as previously assumed and that during the perinatal period erythrocyte alpha-tocopherol content is a more accurate indicator of tissue alpha-tocopherol concentration than plasma alpha-tocopherol content.