Transmission Of Vitamin Research Articles

Environmental selection during the last ice age on the mother-to-infant transmission of vitamin D and fatty acids through breast milk

Because of the ubiquitous adaptability of our material culture, some human populations have occupied extreme environments that intensified selection on existing genomic variation. By 32,000 years ago, people were living in Arctic Beringia, and during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 28,000-18,000 y ago), they likely persisted in the Beringian refugium. Such high latitudes provide only very low levels of UV radiation, and can thereby lead to dangerously low levels of biosynthesized vitamin D. The physiological effects of vitamin D deficiency range from reduced dietary absorption of calcium to a compromised immune system and modified adipose tissue function. The ectodysplasin A receptor (EDAR) gene has a range of pleiotropic effects, including sweat gland density, incisor shoveling, and mammary gland ductal branching. The frequency of the human-specific EDAR V370A allele appears to be uniquely elevated in North and East Asian and New World populations due to a bout of positive selection likely to have occurred circa 20,000 y ago. The dental pleiotropic effects of this allele suggest an even higher occurrence among indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere before European colonization. We hypothesize that selection on EDAR V370A occurred in the Beringian refugium because it increases mammary ductal branching, and thereby may amplify the transfer of critical nutrients in vitamin D-deficient conditions to infants via mothers' milk. This hypothesized selective context for EDAR V370A was likely intertwined with selection on the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene cluster because it is known to modulate lipid profiles transmitted to milk from a vitamin D-rich diet high in omega-3 fatty acids.

The Effect of Soya-Phosphatides on the Absorption and Utilization of Vitamin A in Dairy Animals

Summary Twenty-six healthy pregnant dairy cows of the Jersey and the Holstein breeds were divided into three dietary groups approximately 30 days prior to parturition. Each group received the basic herd ration. Group I, consisting of ten cows, was again subdivided into two groups; Group I–A received no supplement and Group I–B the herd ration plus 10g. of soya-lecithin daily. Each of the eight cows in Group II was given one million I.U. of vitamin A (fish-liver oil) daily. Bach of the eight cows in Group III was fed one million I.U. of vitamin A and 10g. of lecithin daily. The supplements were continued up to the seventh day following parturition. Assays of blood vitamin A and carotene and of milk vitamin A, carotene and lecithin were made at intervals up to 21 days postpartum. Blood plasma vitamin A and carotene were determined in all calves, and representative animals were sacrificed at birth to determine vitamin A liver storage. At parturition the plasma vitamin A level in the control cows fell almost to half of the 4 weeks prepartum level. The level in the cows fed vitamin A supplements remained fairly high, especially for the cows fed lecithin plus vitamin A, indicating that lecithin enhanced the absorption of vitamin A. There was no significant effect of feeding lecithin without vitamin A, although the decrease in blood carotene following parturition appears to be about 10 per cent less when lecithin is fed. Blood plasma carotene was depressed in both vitamin A supplemented groups. However, when vitamin A was fed for a longer period, the carotene level was depressed still further in the cows fed lecithin along with vitamin A. These limited data indicate that lecithin enhanced the action of vitamin A in depressing the carotene level. The vitamin A in the colostrum of cows fed vitamin A was greater than that of the control group; when both lecithin and vitamin A were fed, the colostral vitamin A at the first milking was approximately double that of the vitamin A supplemented cows. This shows that lecithin, when added to vitamin A, increased the transmission of colostral vitamin A. The transmission of vitamin A and carotene in milk closely followed the trend found in the blood plasma. The lecithin content of milk was highest when lecithin was fed to the cows along with vitamin A, and a higher level was maintained in the normal milk. Feeding lecithin without vitamin A had no effect on the transfer of lecithin to milk. When both vitamin A and lecithin were fed, the lecithin of the colostrum and milk was increased. The blood plasma vitamin A level in the newborn calf was highest and the plasma carotene level was the lowest in the calves from dams fed both lecithin and vitamin A. The total liver storage vitamin A in the newborn calves from the control group was low-(190 γ ); it was 5,910 γ in the vitamin A supplemented group and 11,722 γ in the vitamin A plus lecithin supplemented group. Thus, the addition of lecithin to the vitamin A supplement remarkedly increased the liver storage. Three groups of five calves each were fed from birth to 7 days of age as follows: Group A, colostrum; Group B, skim milk plus the same daily quantity of total vitamin A consumed by the calves in the colostrum group (25,000-37,500 LU. of vitamin A); and Group C, skim milk plus the same quantity of vitamin A and the same quantity of lecithin (3-4.5g.) available in the colostrum given to Group A. Every calf in Group B developed serious scours from the third day. Two of them died on the seventh day and a third one on the eleventh day. Their blood plasma vitamin A level was much below that of the colostrum-fed calves. All the calves in Groups A and C grew quite well with slight evidence of digestive disturbance. Blood plasma levels in Group A and C were almost identical, showing the ability of lecithin to increase absorption and utilization of vitamin A.

Transference of Vitamin D from the Female Rat to Her Young

No report has been found of the ability of the rat to transfer ingested vitamin D to the milk. The ability to do this is known to be limited in the human being1,2,3,4, in the cow5,6 and in the ewe7. An accidental and most unfortunate experience in this laboratory has provided a certain amount of information on the transmission of vitamin D from the diet to the milk of the rat.

The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals

The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals

The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals

Research Article| January 01 1934 The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals: Effect of the fat content of diet during pregnancy on the transmission of vitamin A to the foetal rat William John Dann William John Dann 1 1The Nutritional Laboratory, University of Cambridge and Medical Research Council Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Biochem J (1934) 28 (2): 634–637. https://doi.org/10.1042/bj0280634 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Citation William John Dann; The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals: Effect of the fat content of diet during pregnancy on the transmission of vitamin A to the foetal rat. Biochem J 1 January 1934; 28 (2): 634–637. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bj0280634 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsBiochemical Journal Search Advanced Search This content is only available as a PDF. © 1934 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS1934 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals

The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals

The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals

The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals

The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals

The transmission of vitamin A from parents to young in mammals