Determination of vitamin a and ß-carotene levels in plasma of dairy cows

Abstract

The aim of this present study was to investigate the coversion of ß-carotene to vitamin A by measuring plasma vitamin A and ß3-carotene in dairy cows. In this study, a total of 14 Brown-Swiss Cows, in 4-6 years old, supplied by Konya Animal Research Centre, were, used as materials. Animals were diveded into two equal groups. Group1; control group. Group 2; supplemented with ß-carotene (1 gr/day/each cow). Blood was sampled weekly from the animals during the experimental period of 5 weeks. ß-carotene and vitamin A levels in the blood samples were assayed by using HPLC. In group 2, plasma vitamin A and ß-carotene levels were increased statistically significant (P As a conclusion, it will be useful to supplement ß-carotene in dairy cows when the plasma ß-carotene and vitamin A are low.