Alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid decrease the production of beta-apo-carotenals and increase the formation of retinoids from beta-carotene in the lung tissues of cigarette smoke-exposed ferrets in vitro

Previously, we found that exposing ferrets to cigarette smoke enhanced oxidative excentric cleavage of beta-carotene. In the present study, we examined whether alpha-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, or the two combined can prevent smoke-altered beta-carotene metabolism. In vitro incubation of beta-carotene (10 micromol/L) with lung postnuclear fractions from ferrets exposed to cigarette smoke was carried out in the absence or presence of alpha-tocopherol (50 micromol/L), ascorbic acid (10 or 50 micromol/L), or both vitamins to evaluate their effects on the production of beta-apo-carotenals and retinoids from beta-carotene. The oxidative cleavage metabolites of beta-carotene, beta-apo-carotenals (beta-apo-14', beta-apo-12', beta-apo-10', and beta-apo-8'), retinoic acid (RA), and retinal were analyzed by HPLC. We found that the smoke-enhanced production of individual beta-apo-carotenals was significantly decreased by 36-77% when alpha-tocopherol (50 micromol/L) and ascorbic acid (50 micromol/L) were added together to the incubation mixture. alpha-Tocopherol alone had a modest effect. Ascorbic acid in the presence of alpha-tocopherol inhibited the production of beta-apo-carotenals in a dose-dependent manner, although ascorbic acid alone had no effect. In contrast, the production of RA and retinal among smoke-exposed ferrets was substantially increased (approximately 3-fold, P < 0.05) when both alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid were added to the incubation mixtures. However, when ascorbic acid or alpha-tocopherol alone was added, the production of RA among smoke-exposed ferrets increased only modestly (80%, P < 0.05) and did not differ from the RA levels in control ferrets. In conclusion, these data indicate that alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid may act synergistically in preventing the enhanced oxidative excentric cleavage of beta-carotene induced by smoking exposure, thereby facilitating the conversion of beta-carotene into RA and retinal.