Raila Jens, Enjalbert Francis, Mothes Ralf, Hurtienne Andrea, Schweigert Florian J
Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany.
Vet Clin Pathol. 2012 Mar;41(1):119-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-165X.2012.00400.x. Epub 2012 Jan 27.
β-Carotene is an important precursor of vitamin A, and is associated with bovine fertility. β-Carotene concentrations in plasma are used to optimize β-carotene supplementation in cattle, but measurement requires specialized equipment to separate plasma and extract and measure β-carotene, either using spectrophotometry or high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
The objective of this study was to validate a new 2-step point-of-care (POC) assay for measuring β-carotene in whole blood and plasma.
β-carotene concentrations in plasma from 166 cows were measured using HPLC and compared with results obtained using a POC assay, the iCheck-iEx-Carotene test kit. Whole blood samples from 23 of these cattle were also evaluated using the POC assay and compared with HPLC-plasma results from the same 23 animals. The POC assay includes an extraction vial (iEx Carotene) and hand-held photometer (iCheck Carotene).
Concentrations of β-carotene in plasma measured using the POC assay ranged from 0.40 to 15.84 mg/L (n = 166). No differences were observed between methods for assay of plasma (mean ± SD; n = 166): HPLC-plasma 4.23 ± 2.35 mg/L; POC-plasma 4.49 ± 2.36 mg/L. Similar good agreement was found when plasma analyzed using HPLC was compared with whole blood analyzed using the POC system (n = 23): HPLC-plasma 3.46 ± 2.12 mg/L; POC-whole blood 3.67 ± 2.29 mg/L.
Concentrations of β-carotene can be measured in blood and plasma from cattle easily and rapidly using a POC assay, and results are comparable to those obtained by the highly sophisticated HPLC method. Immediate feedback regarding β-carotene deficiency facilitates rapid and appropriate optimization of β-carotene supplementation in feed.
β-胡萝卜素是维生素A的重要前体，与牛的繁殖力相关。血浆中β-胡萝卜素浓度用于优化牛的β-胡萝卜素补充，但测量需要专门设备来分离血浆并提取和测量β-胡萝卜素，可使用分光光度法或高效液相色谱法（HPLC）。
本研究的目的是验证一种新的两步即时检测（POC）方法，用于测量全血和血浆中的β-胡萝卜素。
使用HPLC测量166头奶牛血浆中的β-胡萝卜素浓度，并与使用POC检测方法（iCheck-iEx-胡萝卜素检测试剂盒）获得的结果进行比较。还使用POC检测方法对其中23头牛的全血样本进行评估，并与这23头动物的HPLC-血浆结果进行比较。POC检测方法包括一个提取瓶（iEx胡萝卜素）和手持式光度计（iCheck胡萝卜素）。
使用POC检测方法测得的血浆中β-胡萝卜素浓度范围为0.40至15.84mg/L（n = 166）。血浆检测方法之间未观察到差异（平均值±标准差；n = 166）：HPLC-血浆4.23±2.35mg/L；POC-血浆4.49±2.36mg/L。当将使用HPLC分析的血浆与使用POC系统分析的全血进行比较时（n = 23），也发现了类似的良好一致性：HPLC-血浆3.46±2.12mg/L；POC-全血3.67±2.29mg/L。
使用POC检测方法可以轻松、快速地测量牛血液和血浆中的β-胡萝卜素浓度，结果与通过高度复杂的HPLC方法获得的结果相当。关于β-胡萝卜素缺乏的即时反馈有助于快速、适当地优化饲料中β-胡萝卜素的补充。
