The vitamin D content of tissues of rats given ergocalciferol

Abstract

I954 alcohols has been established. Some saturated sterol (probably ,-cholestanol) is present and a number of other sterol or sterol-like substances which form insoluble digitonides have been found. The author wishes to thank Dr R. M. B. MacKenna and Professor A. Wormall for their interest and help. The two specimens of ovarian dermoid cyst lipid were kindly supplied by Dr Magnus Haines of the Chelsea Hospital for Women, the ear wax and vernix caseosa specimens by the Ear, Nose and Throat and Maternity departments of St Bartholomew's Hospital, and the epidermal cyst by Dr I. S. Hodgson-Jones.

Studies of Antiricketic Activity in Sera From Patients With Disorders of Calcium Metabolism and Preliminary Observations on the Mode of Transport of Vitamin D in Human Serum*

“…The results obtained on human subjects in the present experiments and previously, also, by Warkany (10)(11)(12) are consistent with the findings of Cruickshank and his co-workers (33)(34)(35). We found that ingestion of large doses of vitamin D were required to increase appreciably the antiricketic activity of the serum.…”

“…Recently several studies have been reported on the fate of orally administered vitamin D in experimental animals (33,34). Following such administration only a small fraction (10 to 30 per cent) of the dose could be recovered, the major portion having been destroyed, presumably within the intestinal lumen.…”

“…Following such administration only a small fraction (10 to 30 per cent) of the dose could be recovered, the major portion having been destroyed, presumably within the intestinal lumen. It has been suggested that oxidation of the D vitamins within the gut may account for their disappearance after oral dosage and that the bacterial flora of the gut may be the responsible agents (33,34). In one test of this possibility succinylsulfathiazole was fed to a group of rats prior to D administration, but this did not result in any improved recovery of the vitamin (35).…”

Deposition in and release of vitamin D3 from body fat: evidence for a storage site in the rat

“…Most of the early studies of tissue distribution after a single (usually very large) dose of the vitamin recovered only about 10% of that administered, and this was found to be distributed rather uniformly among a variety of tissues (8)(9)(10)(11). Nevertheless, the liver has been considered by some to be the most likely site for storage in mammals (12).…”

Storage of Vitamins in Liver

“…In more recent experiments (Cruickshank, Kodicek & Armitage, 1954), we investigated the effect of irradiation on the formation of vitamin D in the skin of deficient rats. We observed that irradiation with ultraviolet light caused a definite increase in the skin of the order of 20 i.u./g.…”