| Abstrakt: |
We investigated the effects of various types of dietary fat of plantand animal origin on Beta-carotene absorption and tissue accumulation in rats. Rats were fed 1 mL of butter fat, lard, tallow, sunflower,arachidonic, soya, olive, or linseed oil containing 175 mg (3-carotene/mL fat by gavage, twice a week for 4 weeks. The Beta-carotene and vitamin A levels in plasma and tissues were determined by rp-HPLC. The highest levels of absorbed Beta-carotene were observed in the liverof animals fed olive and arachidonic oil (p < 0.001), and in the lungs of animals fed sunflower oil. Histomorphological studies showed that the observed highly variable accumulation of Beta-carotene in lungtissue was most probably due to an endogenously caused lipid pneumonia. No Beta-carotene was observed in blood plasma, kidney, and spleenin any group. Plasma vitamin A levels (retinol) were increased with tallow, olive, and arachidonic oil (p < 0.05). The most obvious influence was found for vitamin A in the spleen. Levels in rats fed tallow(p < 0.05), butter, or lard (p < 0.001) were higher than in controls. The lowest vitamin A levels were found in rats fed fat of plant origin. Our results suggest that the type of dietary fat can modulate the absorption of Beta-carotene as well as the distribution of vitamin A in plasma and selected tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
