Distribution of vitamins A and E in blood and liver of rats depleted of vitamin A or vitamin E.

Young Sprague-Dawley male rats (n = 150) were fed a semipurified diet, either without vitamin A (VA), without vitamin E (VE) or supplemented with both vitamins A and E (control). At the end of weeks 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, groups of rats were anesthetized with methoxyflurane, and blood was collected by cardiac puncture until the rat was exsanguinated. The liver was excised. Whole blood (WB) from each rat was fractionated into plasma (PLA), leukocytes (LEU), platelets (PLT) and erythrocytes (RBC). Each blood component was extracted with heptane and livers were extracted with CHCl3/CH3OH (2:1, v/v). The extracts were analyzed for VA and VE by high performance liquid chromatography. The relationship among blood components in the loss of VA was PLT = LEU greater than WB greater than PLA. The relationship among blood components in the loss of VE was PLA greater than RBC greater than WB greater than LEU = PLT. VA and VE levels in other blood components decreased precipitously between weeks 0 and 4 in the animals placed on deficient diets. These results and correlation analyses between vitamin contents of blood components and of livers indicate inadequacies for the use of certain blood components as monitors of lipid-soluble vitamin status in the rat.