Hepatic vitamin A and carotene levels in the newborn foal

Summary Previous reports have indicated that at birth, the livers of calves, rats and rabbits contain very little vitamin A or its precursor carotene. A definitive report of the level of hepatic vitamin A and carotene in neonatal foals has not been found. To avoid having to sacrifice neonates, a cooperative collection program was initiated with local veterinarians to utilize livers from newborn foals that had not survived. The collection protocol was defmed as: a) the foal must have been born full term; b) the foal must have never nursed; and c) the foal must have appeared normal to a veterinarian or veterinary diagnos- tic laboratory. Ten whole livers were collected over a two year period. Liver samples were analyzed for total vitamin A and beta carotene. The mean (±SE) vitamin Alevelofthe ten livers was 20.7 ± 6.1 mcg/g of wet tissue. The beta carotene concentration in all livers was minimal: