The Effect of Diet on the Vitamin A Content of the Bovine Fetal Liver

Abstract

During an experiment in which cattle were exposed to Brucella abortus, pregnant cows were separated into four dietary groups with different vitamin A intake. The vitamin A content of the livers of twenty fetuses aborted by these cows was measured. At the same time, the vitamin A storage of a few mothers in each dietary group was determined from liver samples obtained by partial hepatectomy immediately after abortion. It was found that the vitamin A content of the fetal liver, although low, was in direct relationship to the mother's diet.