THE ABSORPTION OF OILY AND AQUEOUS PREPARATIONS OF ESTER AND ALCOHOL VITAMIN A BY NORMAL CHILDREN AND CHILDREN WITH VARIOUS DISEASES

A study was made of the absorption of aqueous and oily preparations of ester and alcohol vitamin A by normal subjects and by patients with various diseases. The oily preparations used were the Abbott product (containing 210,000 I. U. ester vitamin A/gm.) and the Borden product (210,000 I. U. alcohol vitamin A/gm). The aqueous preparations used were: "Vifort Special" (60,000 I. U. alcohol vitamin A/gm.); Vi-Syneral Vitamin Drops (7,000 I. U. alcohol vitamin A/gm.); "Zymadrops Special" (10,500 I. U. ester vitamin A/gm.). When seven normal children ingested 14,000 I. U. vitamin A/kg. of body weight in the form of aqueous "Vifort Special" or the oily Borden or Abbott products, the maximum concentration of vitamin A in serum was found three to four hours after the ingestion of "Vifort Special" and four to five hours after the oily products. In most cases "Vifort Special" produced somewhat higher concentrations. The vitamin A in the serum tended to remain elevated longer after the oily products. We did not find the striking difference in the absorption of the oily and aqueous preparations of vitamin A in favor of the aqueous reported by other investigators. This seemed to be due to the fact that we used relatively concentrated oily vitamin A products containing 210,000 I. U./gm., while they used oleum percomorphum containing 60,000 I. U./gm. Four hours after ingestion of 7,000 I. U. vitamin A/kg. body weight in the form of the oily Abbott ester product the mean I. U. vitamin A/100 ml. serum for 35 normal newborn infants, 13 older children and 12 adults was, respectively: 502, 1,569 and 1,300. After ingestion of the oily Borden alcohol product, the corresponding values were, respectively: 688, 817 and 1,273. The absorption of vitamin A by the newborn infants was very variable while the older subjects absorbed both products well. After oral administration, 13 children with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas absorbed only small amounts of the Abbott ester product but absorbed the Borden alcohol product well, while seven children with celiac disease showed poor absorption of both products. Therefore a comparison of the absorption of concentrated oily preparations of ester and alcohol vitamin A is an aid in the differential diagnosis of these two diseases. Since patients with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas, anemia, diarrhea, giardiasis, severe malnutrition and some acute conditions absorb alcohol vitamin A in oil much better than the ester in oil, it is suggested that the alcohol form of vitamin A in oil or in an aqueous dispersion or emulsified ester vitamin A would be effective sources of vitamin A in the proper nutrition of these patients. Patients with celiac disease, intestinal ulcers and certain other diseases absorbed both oily and aqueous products poorly. Other patients showed excellent absorption of the various aqueous and oily products.