title: Effect of maternal vitamin A supplementation on retinol concentration in colostrum.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of vitamin A supplementation on the retinol concentration in colostrum under fasting and postprandial conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a quasi-experimental study, with before and after assessments, conducted with 33 patients treated at a public maternity hospital. Blood and colostrum samples were collected under fasting conditions in the immediate postpartum period. A second colostrum collection occurred two hours after the first meal of the day, at which time a mega dose of 200,000 IU of retinyl palmitate was administered. On the following day, the colostrum was collected again under fasting and postprandial conditions. Serum and colostrum retinol concentrations were determined by high performance liquid chromatography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum retinol concentration was 37.3 (16.8-62.2) μg/dL, indicating adequate nutritional status. The colostrum retinol concentration before supplementation was 46.8 (29.7-158.9) μg/dL in fasting and 67.3 (31.1-148.7) μg/dL in postprandial condition (p < 0.05), showing an increase of 43.8%. After supplementation, the values were 89.5 (32.9-264.2) μg/dL and 102.7 (37.3-378.3) μg/dL in fasting and postprandial conditions, respectively (p < 0.05), representing an increase of 14.7%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that maternal supplementation with high doses of vitamin A in postpartum resulted in a significant increase of the retinol concentration in colostrum under fasting conditions, with an even greater increase after a meal.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN, Brazil. Electronic address: evellyn-cg@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Evellyn C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Grilo
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN, Brazil. Electronic address: mayara.lima@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Mayara S R
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lahyana R F
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristiane S S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Gurgel
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Heleni A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Clemente
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dimenstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003126:Colostrum / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004224:Diterpenes; D005215:Fasting / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D065228:Non-Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D049590:Postpartum Period; D019518:Postprandial Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D000084562:Retinyl Esters; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004224:Diterpenes; D000084562:Retinyl Esters; D014801:Vitamin A; C014794:retinol palmitate
keywords: Colostro; Colostrum; Fasting; Jejum; Período pós-prandial; Postprandial period; Suplementação alimentar; Supplementary feeding; Vitamin A; Vitamina A