Role of Selenium in Relation to Ubiquinone in the Rat

Abstract

IN a preliminary communication¹ and in more detailed work², we have shown that α-tocopherol and selenium independently control ubiquinone-levels in the rat, and a similar relation between tocopherol and ubiquinone has been found in the rabbit⁸. We have proposed a theory of vitamin E function which can be briefly summarized as follows. Although animal species vary considerably in their requirements for tocopherol, an even more important variation exists in individual tissue requirements for the vitamin, and in the rates at which tissues become depleted in vitamin E deficiency. Thus, in the rat, uterus normally contains a relatively high concentration of tocopherol and is rapidly depleted, whereas, in the rabbit, skeletal muscle is the tissue most readily depleted. In both these tissues, diminished ubiquinone -levels are the result and may be causally related to the specific syndromes of vitamin E-deficiency, fœtal resorption in the rat and muscular dystrophy in the rabbit. The remarkable species differences in vitamin E deficiency are, according to this hypothesis, a reflexion of local tissue tocopherol deficiencies.