Schindler R, Friedrich D H, Krämer M, Wacker H H, Feldheim W
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science, University of Kiel, FRG.
Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 1988;58(2):146-54.
Postmortem livers from 77 "normal" persons, 37 patients with neoplastic disease, 10 subjects with liver insufficiency, and 7 infants were analysed for free and esterified retinol. The average concentrations of total vitamin A for the members of each group were 597, 551, 289, and 162 micrograms/g wet liver, respectively. Compared with corresponding control values, both cancer victims and patients with liver disease had significantly lower hepatic vitamin A levels. With regard to the composition of the liver vitamin A reserves, our results show that approximately 97% of this vitamin was present as retinyl ester. Additionally, minute amounts of retinol were also found in most of the liver specimens analysed. In "normal" subjects the major ester fraction recovered was palmitate/oleate followed by stearate and myristate/linoleate. By contrast, the second most abundant fatty acid in the retinyl ester fraction of cancer victims was myristic/linoleic acid together with significantly smaller quantities of stearic acid. In tissue samples obtained from patients with liver disorders, however, the myristate/linoleate fraction was increased and therefore nearly equal amounts of both retinyl stearate and myristate/linoleate were present.
