STORAGE OF CAROTENOIDS AND OF VITAMINS A 531 



effect is less pronounced than that obtained with dibenzanthracene^*^^ 

 Baumann et al?^^ extended this finding by showing that, in contradistinc- 

 tion to the effect of dibenzanthracene and methylcholanthrene, the action 

 of alcohol in lowering hepatic \dtaniin A does not involve a simultaneous 

 increase in the vitamin A content of the kidney. 



The ^'itamin A content of the liver has been found to be distinctly sub- 

 normal in patients suffering from chronic nephritisJ^^'''^^ This low degree 

 of liver storage is accompanied by relatively high levels of vitamin A in the 

 blood.29.84 



There are a number of abnormal conditions in which no disturbances in 

 \'itamin A storage have been noted. Thus, it is normal in a variety of 

 clinically acute disorders,^ ^^•''^^ for example in measles, bronchopneumonia, 

 and otitis media, as well as in the experimental loss of fat due to thiamine 

 deficiency,'' ^^ and also in the loss of liver fat due to choline.''" Like^\^se, 

 Bentley and Morgan''^^ reported that the deposition of \'itamin A was not 

 affected by fatty livers or by choline deficiency. Moreover, fatty livers 

 induced by phosphorus apparently did not alter the hepatic storage of 

 vitamin A.''^^'''^^ The livers of choledochocolostomized rats did not con- 

 tain less vitamin A than did those of unoperated animals maintained under 

 the same conditions.''^'' Following the administration of phenylhydrazine, 

 the vitamin A storage in the liver was decreased only when the Kupffer 

 star -cells were damaged. Bismuth, which has a close affinity for the reticu- 

 loendothelial system, completely inhibited the storage of vitamin A in the 

 liver. This is interpreted by Wendt and Konig^" to indicate the role of the 

 reticuloendothelial system in vitamin A metabohsm. In addition, Conig- 

 lio et al?'^^ reported that doses of x-ray of 500 r and 650 r did not influence 

 fat absorption in rats, or the concentration of vitamin A in the liver. 



Food intake itself has been sho^\^l to have little effect upon the level of 

 hepatic vitamin A. Thus, Truscott^^^ reported that it required relatively 

 enormous differences in food intake to change the levels of hepatic vitamin 

 A in castrated mice. On the other hand, Molteno and Rapson''-^ reported 



"3 L. K. Wolff, Lancet [110], 19S2, II, 617-620 (1932). 

 ^1* T. Moore, Biochem. J., 31, 155-164 (1937). 

 "5 J. B. Ellison and T. Moore, Biochem. J., 81, 165-171 (1937). 

 •'IS W. J. Dann and T. Moore, Biochem. J., 25, 914-917 (1931). 

 "' E. J. Lease and H. Steenbock, /. Nutrition, 17, 85-90 (1939). 

 "8 L. S. Bentlev and A. F. Morgan, /. Nutrition, 31, 333-346 (1946). 

 •'la F. Lasch, Aim. Wochschr., U, 1070-1073 (1935). 



'20 J. D. Greaves and C. L. A. Schmidt, Am. J. Physiol, 116, 456-467 (1936). 

 "1 J. G. Coniglio, W. J. Darby, M. C. Wilkerson, R. Stewart, A. Stockwell, and G. W. 

 Hudson, Am. J. Physiol, 172, 86-92 (1953). 

 "2 B. L. Truscott, Science, 117, 63-64 (1953). 

 "3 C. J. INIolteno and W. S. Rapson, Biochem. J., 33, 1390-1393 (1939). 



