Effect of beta-carotene and vitamin A on progesterone production by bovine luteal cells.

The relationship between concentrations of plasma vitamin A and c-carotene and corpora lutea was studied using 52 Holstein cows. Bovine luteinizing hormone was added to incubation tubes in doses of 0, 10, or 100 ng/ml. Regression of progesterone secretion by luteal cells in vitro on plasma beta-carotene was positive and significant for corpora lutea collected during the winter months when plasma beta-carotene was low. The two were unrelated during the summer months when beta-carotene was higher. Similar regressions for in vitro progesterone production and vitamin A were not significant in either season. These results suggest that in vivo beta-carotene status is related to bovine luteal function in vitro.