Impacts of Vitamin D3 and Zinc Supplementation on the Redox Status in Blood and Pancreas of Rats With Alcohol-Induced Chronic Pancreatitis

Objectives: Alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis (ACP) is known to be associated with elevated oxidative stress. Recent studies have revealed that patients with ACP tend to have lower blood levels of vitamin D3 and zinc. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of oral supplementation with vitamin D3 and zinc on the redox status in ACP. Methods: Male SD rats were fed Lieber-DeCarli (LD) liquid diets containing alcohol (36% of total calorie) for 13 weeks, along with three tail vein injections of lipopolysaccharide (2 mg/kg/week) to induce ACP. The LD diets were supplemented with either water, vitamin D3 (6.6 μg/kg body weight/day), zinc (5.5 μg Zn/ml diet), or a combination of vitamin D3 and zinc. Rats fed an isocaloric LD diet without alcohol served as controls. Results: ACP rats exhibited significantly higher pain scores in the Rat Grimace Scale (RGS), serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and amylase, as well as plasma levels of reduced glutathione. Additionally, they showed significantly lower body weights, serum levels of albumin, and plasma levels of zinc, tumor-necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) than control rats. In the pancreas, ACP rats showed earlier acinar cell damage and hemorrhage, along with significantly increased glutathione peroxidase activity and oxidized glutathione levels. Supplementation with vitamin D3 significantly decreased TNF-α and IL-6 levels in the pancreas, while zinc supplementation significantly increased serum CRP levels. The combination of vitamin D3 and zinc significantly reduced pain scores in the RGS, plasma TNF-α levels, and pancreatic glutathione peroxidase activity, while also elevated erythrocytic levels of both reduced and oxidized glutathione. Conclusions: Supplementation of vitamin D3, with or without zinc, may impact redox status by increasing glutathione production and glutathione peroxidase activity in the erythrocytes and the pancreas in ACP. Funding Sources: Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan.