Butylated hydroxytoluene prevents hepatic damage induced by food oil.

A rapid and reproducible model of fatty liver in rats was developed by injecting corn oil (s.c.). In preliminary experiments, the mortality due to acute ethanol intoxication was significantly higher in this model of acutely fattened animals. Lipid peroxidation is a process that involves free radicals and consumes as substrate unsaturated fatty acids, which are present in great amounts in corn oil. Thus, in this work we explored whether the acute loads of corn oil increased hepatic lipid peroxidation. The three markers of cellular oxidative stress measured in fatty livers from rats injected with corn oil were: the production of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), liver content of triacylglycerides (TAG), and total glutathione (GSH-GSSG). All were significantly modified. We also studied the effect of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a free radical scavenger frequently used in the food industry to prevent lipid oxidation, and found that it prevented the effect of corn oil on TBARS and TAG but enhanced the depletion of GSH-GSSG caused by the acute administration of large loads of corn oil.