부산대학교 도서관

A series of feeding experiments was performed to examine whether sesame lignan substances (sesaminol and sesamin) might exert a tocopherol (Toc) /tocotrienol (Toc-3) enhancement effect in rats. A mixture of Toc and Toc-3 (T-mix) was made up composed of α-Toc (23%), α-Toc-3 (22%), β-Toc-3 (5 %), γ-Toc-3 (34 %), δ-Toc-3 (10 %) and a small amount of β-and γ-Toc, and a diet containing 20 mg/kg (A) or 50 mg/kg (B) each this T-mix was given to the rats for 8 weeks. In the rats fed on diet A, (a) hemolysis of the red blood cells, (b) plasma pyruvate kinase, and (c) plasma and liver lipoperoxides were elevated in comparison to the case with diet B, whereas these values declined when 0.1 % sesaminol was supplemented to each diet. The major component of Toc in both the plasma and liver was found to be α-Toc, while a small amount of α-Toc-3 was detectable and γ-Toc-3 was undetectable. Supplementation of sesaminol caused a marked elevation of α-Toc; although the concentration of α-Toc-3 was also elevated, its content remained low. α-Toc was the predominant component in the rats fed on sesaminol. Sesamin exhibited an similar effect on the rats, but to a much lesser extent in comparison with the effect of sesaminol.