The relationship between vitamin A and ferritin towards malondialdehyde level among Javanese male smokers

Cigarette smokes produce a large number of oxidants and promote secretion of ferritin by alveolar macrophages which are potential to encourage the lipid peroxidation. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is used as a parameter of lipid peroxidation. The study was aimed to evaluate the relationship between blood level of vitamin A and ferritin and MDA among Javanese male smokers. Sixty men who lived in Purworejo District, Central Java, Indonesia comprising 30 smokers as case group and 30 nonsmokers as control group were involved in this study. Blood sample was obtained from cubiti vein and then centrifuged to obtain plasma or serum. Blood levels of vitamin A, ferritin and MDA were measured by HPLC, ELISA and spectrophotometric methods, respectively. The result showed that the blood vitamin A, ferritin, and MDA levels in smokers were 25.09±9.51μg/dL, 35.50±24.17ng/dL, 1.15±0.42μg/L, respectively, whereas in non smokers, they were 26.11±9.19 μg/dL, 38.60±15.25 ng/dL, 1.06±0.50 μg/L, respectively. Therewas no significant difference of the blood vitamin A, ferritin, and MDA levels between smokers and the non smokers (p>0.05). The linear regression analysis indicated that there was negative relationship between blood vitamin A and MDA levels although it was not significant (p=0.052), while blood ferritin and MDA levels had a significantly positive relationship (p=0.010). In conclusion, the low level of blood vitamin A among cigarette smokers does not lead to high blood MDA level, while high level of blood ferritin among smokers leads to high blood MDA level.