Diet in vitamin A research.
A properly formulated diet is an essential underpinning for all in vivo research. This chapter focuses on the use of diet in retinoid research from two perspectives: human research, in which diet is usually variable and analysis of dietary intake is paramount to interpreting the study's results, and animal (rodent) research, in which diet is imposed as a factor in the experimental design, and the diet consumed is usually monotonous. Many standard rodent diets are nonpurified and the amount of vitamin A in the diet is unknown. Moreover, it is likely to be much higher than expected from the label. By using a well-formulated purified diet with an exact amount of vitamin A, retinoid status in rodents can be closely controlled to create specific physiological conditions that represent the wide range of vitamin A status present in human populations.
Ross
A Catharine
AC
Department of Nutritional Sciences and Huck Institute for the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
D000328:Adult; D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D000431:Ethanol; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D051381:Rats; D012107:Research Design; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency
D014801:Vitamin A; D000431:Ethanol