Vitamin a and Carotene in the Nutrition of the Guinea Pig

Bentley, Lillian S.; Morgan, Agnes Fay

doi:10.1093/jn/30.3.159

Cited by 7 publications

References 9 publications

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Ovarian weight and density in vitamin A‐deficient rats

Truscott

1947

Anat. Rec.

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The essential role of vitamin A in the growth processes of certain animals has long been recognized, and it is a wellestablished fact that body growth is retarded o r halted in animals placed on a diet deficient in this vitamin. The comparable effects on the individual organs, however, are believed to represent merely parts of a derangement in a general growth mechanism, with no particular significance to the normal function of any one system. It has been suggested (Truscott, '44c) that vitamin A and vitamin E act in a specific manner in the normal growth and activity of a t least one of the body systems, namely the reproductive system. The brief review of the literature, presented in the paper cited, emphasized the importance of vitamin A in reproduction, a s illustrated by hypervitaminosis and hypovitaminosis experiments. It was noted that vitamin A-deficiency causes atrophy of the testis and seminiferous tubules, abnormal cornification of the vagina, keratinixation of the uterine epithelium, placental degeneration and fetal death. Also affected by deficiency of this vitamin are the interstitial cells of the ovaries (Kuncz, '42), and the incidence of abortions (Manzi, '25; Hart and Guilbert, '41; Bentley and Morgan, '45). The stimulation of spermatogenesis under conditions of hypervitaminosis A was also mentioned in our earlier review.

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