Vitamin A and carotene

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Vitamin A was estimated in livers of about 200 children under 15 years of age dying by accident or from disease. Vitamin A reserves were very low in young infants (0-4 weeks median 73; 19 months-3 years, 99; 4 months-14 years, 130). By calculation a diet of cows'' milk and probably also human milk, should contain sufficient vitamin to permit the accumulation of the reserves observed. If a mother having a vitamin A reserve equal to the typical value found in health were restricted during lactation to a diet deficient in vitamin A the total secretion, if maintained at the normal rate, would represent almost the whole liver reserve. High reserves were found in tuberculosis (140), moderate reserves in measles et sequelae (110), low reserves in pneumonia (78), head infections (68), septic diseases (47), heart diseases (15). Available data on adults generally agree with the above results, especially in the septic diseases. Reserves were not low in acute infectious diseases.