Reproduction and vision in rats maintained on a retinol-free diet containing 3-dehydroretinol (vitamin A2)

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Abstract
1. Seventeen hooded female rats were given from weaning a retinol-free diet containing methyl retinoate. When 105 days old they were mated with normal bucks.2. Six of these rats were subsequently given dietary supplements of 100 μg retinol daily and another six were given 100 μg 3-dehydroretinol daily. All twelve rats had litters.3. The five rats that received only methylretinoate during pregnancy resorbed their foetuses.4. One of the litters from the female rats given 3-dehydroretinol consisted of six male pups. These young rats had never had access to retinol. They were maintained on a retinol-free diet supplemented with methyl retinoate. Two of these rats were given daily supplements of 3-dehydroretinol and another pair were given daily an equal amount of retinol.5. The six rats were killed when 195 days old. The testes and the retina of the rats given either 3-dehydroretinol or retinol were normal. The testes and the retina of the rats given methylretinoate only were degenerate.