Comparison of Vitamin a Liver Storage Following Administration of Vitamin a in Oily and Aqueous Media

Abstract

Vitamin A liver storage tests were used as the criterion for determining the relative absorption of vitamin A from oily and aqueous media. Young rats were placed on the U.S.P. Vitamin A Test Diet containing hydrogenated cottonseed oil. The deficient rats were fed the preparations for 3 successive days and sacrificed at the beginning of the fifth day for vitamin A analyses of liver and serum. There was no definite relationship between serum levels and liver storage, except that vitamin A deficient animals gave low serum values. Liver storage was 3 times as great in groups fed the unsaponifiable fraction of fish liver oil dispersed in water as compared with the same fraction administered in maize oil. Liver storage of groups fed distilled natural esters in maize oil was about 1.5 times as great as that deposited in groups fed the unsaponifiable fraction in maize oil. Distilled esters dispersed in water gave 2.2 times the deposit as compared to distilled esters in maize oil. Apparently vitamin A is more effective when dispersed in aqueous media than in oily solutions. This indicates the importance of considering the nature of the diluent material in the biological evaluation of vitamin A.