Vitamin A metabolism in plasma of normal and anorectic women.

Plasma retinol and retinyl ester kinetics were determined following an oral bolus of vitamin A in normal women and in women suffering from anorexia nervosa. Circulating levels of vitamin A and alpha-tocopherol were lower in anorectics than in normals with alpha-tocopherol levels close to minimal adequate levels. This suggests the possibility of deficiencies of other dietary factors. Following an oral bolus, plasma retinol increased more in anorectics than in normals, but transport values were not changed. Retinyl ester levels increased sevenfold more in anorectics than normals with a parallel enhancement in transport. Retinyl esters in plasma of normals and anorectics were present mainly in low-density lipoprotein with lesser amounts in very-low-density and high-density lipoprotein, but only minor amounts were found in chylomicrons. These data were used to calculate a relative dose response and indicated that anorectics had higher values than normals. Anorectics appear to have a lower status of vitamins A and E than normals but no defect in vitamin A metabolism was observed.