Impact of dietary supplementation with olive and thyme phenols on alpha-tocopherol concentration in the muscle and liver of adult Wistar rats

Abstract

A preliminary study to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with olive phenols (oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol and secoiridoids), thyme phenols and a combination of these (5 mg per kg rat weight per day) on the α-tocopherol concentrations in the muscle and liver of healthy adult Wistar rats over 21 days was conducted. In addition, the excretion of α-tocopherol through the faeces was examined. The results demonstrated that the diet supplemented with some phenolic compounds of olive and thyme increased α-tocopherol (P < 0.05) in the liver of female rats, although the α-tocopherol content in the diet of all groups was identical. In addition, a synergic effect between the olive phenols and thyme was observed. Therefore, our study indicates a protective effect of olive and thyme phenols supplemented in the diet on α-tocopherol, resulting in a higher concentration of endogenous α-tocopherol in the rat liver.

This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (AGL2012-40144-C03-03 project), by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport through the ‘Formación Profesorado Universitario’ D. Bars-Cortina grant (FPU014/02902), and by the University of Lleida through the M.C. López de las Hazas grant.