Vitamin A in Danish Pig, Calf, and Ox Liver

Abstract

The analysis of Danish pig, calf, and ox liver was undertaken following reports from other European countries of very high amounts of Vitamin A found in liver, giving cause for concern about the toxic and even teratogenic effects of vitamin A taken in high doses. Vitamin A in 199 samples of pig liver and 50 samples of calf and ox liver was determined by an HPLC method using adsorption chromatography with gradient elution with isopropanol in n-heptane and spectrophotometric detection at 325 nm. An average of 15 mg vitamin A per 100 g was found in pig liver with a range of 3 to 52 mg 100g. An average of 10.3 mg vitamin A per 100 g was found in calf liver with a range of 2 to 27 mg per 100 g, and 22.3 mg vitamin A per 100 g was found in ox liver with a range of 6 to 48.1 mg per 100g. Liver from sows and boars more than 1 year old contained an average of 79.3 mg vitamin A per 100 g with a range of 24 to 137 mg per 100g. The vitamin A level in calf and ox liver was the same as that found in 1973 (Leth, 1973), while the vitamin A level in pig liver shows an increase of 50% since 1973. These results give no serious cause for alarm, but since it cannot totally be excluded that a dish of fried liver can be a teratogenic risk, albeit a very low one (Olson 1990) (EEC 1991), a warning to women against eating liver during pregnancy is warranted.