Overweight Leads to an Increase in Vitamin E Absorption and Status in Mice

ScopeThis study investigates whether vitamin E (VE) deficiency in subjects with obesity could, at least partly, be due to a defect in VE intestinal absorption.Methods and resultsMice follow either a high‐fat (HF) or a control (CTL) diet for 12 weeks. The study evaluates their VE status, the expression of genes encoding proteins involved in lipid and fat‐soluble vitamin intestinal absorption, and VE absorption using a γ‐tocopherol‐rich emulsion. HF mice have a weight (+23.0%) and an adiposity index (AI, +157.0) superior to CTL mice (p < 0.05). α‐Tocopherol concentrations are higher in both plasma (+45.0%) and liver (+116.9%) of HF mice compared to CTL mice (p < 0.05). α‐Tocopherol concentration in the adipose tissue of HF mice is higher than that of CTL mice after correction by the AI (+72.4%, p < 0.05). No difference is found in the expression of genes coding for proteins involved in intestinal lipid metabolism in fasting mice. After force‐feeding, γ‐tocopherol plasma concentration is higher in HF mice compared to CTL mice (+181.5% at 1.5 h after force‐feeding, p < 0.05).ConclusionHF mice display higher status and more efficient absorption of VE than CTL mice. VE absorption is thus likely not impaired in the early stages of obesity.