García Ada L, Raila Jens, Koebnick Corinna, Eulenberger Klaus, Schweigert Florian J
Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, D-14558 Nuthetal, Germany.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2006 Oct;131(2):236-42. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.20428.
Great apes are the closest living relatives of humans. Physiological similarities between great apes and humans provide clues to identify which biological features in humans are primitive or derived from great apes. Vitamin A (VA) and carotenoid metabolism have been only partially studied in great apes, and comparisons between great apes and humans are not available. We aimed to investigate VA and carotenoid intake and plasma concentrations in great apes living in captivity, and to compare them to healthy humans. Dietary intakes of humans (n = 20) and, among the great apes, chimpanzees (n = 15) and orangutans (n = 5) were calculated. Plasma retinol (ROH), retinol-binding protein (RBP), retinyl esters, and major carotenoids were analyzed. The great ape diet was higher in VA than in humans, due to high intake of provitamin A carotenoids. Plasma ROH concentrations in great apes were similar to those in humans, but retinyl esters were higher in great apes than in humans. Differences in plasma carotenoid concentrations were observed between great apes and humans. Lutein was the main carotenoid in great apes, while beta-carotene was the main carotenoid for humans. RBP concentrations did not differ between great apes and humans. The molar ratio of ROH to RBP was close to 1.0 in both great apes and humans. In conclusion, great apes show homeostatic ROH regulation, with high but physiological retinyl esters circulating in plasma. Furthermore, great apes show great selectivity in their plasmatic carotenoid concentration, which is not explained by dietary intake.
大猩猩是现存与人类亲缘关系最近的物种。大猩猩与人类之间的生理相似性为确定人类的哪些生物学特征是原始的或源自大猩猩提供了线索。维生素A（VA）和类胡萝卜素代谢在大猩猩中仅得到了部分研究，且尚无大猩猩与人类之间的比较。我们旨在调查圈养大猩猩的VA和类胡萝卜素摄入量及血浆浓度，并将它们与健康人类进行比较。计算了人类（n = 20）以及大猩猩中的黑猩猩（n = 15）和红毛猩猩（n = 5）的饮食摄入量。分析了血浆视黄醇（ROH）、视黄醇结合蛋白（RBP）、视黄酯和主要类胡萝卜素。由于维生素A原类胡萝卜素的高摄入量，大猩猩的饮食中VA含量高于人类。大猩猩的血浆ROH浓度与人类相似，但大猩猩的视黄酯含量高于人类。在大猩猩和人类之间观察到了血浆类胡萝卜素浓度的差异。叶黄素是大猩猩中的主要类胡萝卜素，而β-胡萝卜素是人类中的主要类胡萝卜素。大猩猩和人类之间的RBP浓度没有差异。在大猩猩和人类中，ROH与RBP的摩尔比均接近1.0。总之，大猩猩表现出视黄醇的稳态调节，血浆中循环的视黄酯含量高但处于生理水平。此外，大猩猩在血浆类胡萝卜素浓度方面表现出很大的选择性，这无法用饮食摄入量来解释。
