Vitamin A: A review

Asian Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Volumn 1, Issue 1, 2009, Pages 65-82

  Edem, D O ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF UYO   (Nigeria)

Author keywords

Control strategy; Deficiency; Functions; Vitamin A

Indexed keywords

ANIMALIA;

EID: 62349124926     PISSN: 19921470     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3923/ajcn.2009.65.82     Document Type: Review

References (151)

1. Ahmed, F., D.B. Jones and A.A. Jackson, 1991. Effect of vitamin A deficiency on the immune response of mice to epizootic diarrhoea of infant mice (EDIM) rotavirus infection in mice. Br. J. Nutr., 65: 478-785.
2. Ajose, O.A., D.A. Adelekan and E.O. Ajewole, 2004. Vitamin A status of pregnant Nigerian women: Relationship to dietary habits and morbidity. Nutr. Health, 17: 325-333.
3. Alais, C. and G. Linden, 1999. Food Biochemistry. 1st Edn. Aspen Publishers, Maryland, pp: 104-110.
4. Anderson, R., 1995. Immunological consequences of sub clinical vitamin deficiencies. VitaminSpur, 10: 133-136.
5. Anosike, E.O., 1994. An Introduction to the Principles of Biochemistry. 1st Edn. Sunray Publications Ltd., Port Harcourt, Nigeria, pp: 160-172.
6. Arnhold, T., M.M.A. Elmazar and H. Nau, 2002. Prevention of vitamin A teratogenesis by phytol or phytanic acid results from reduced metabolism of retinol to the teratogenic metabolite, all trans retinoic acid. Toxicol. Sci., 66: 274-282.
7. Asonye, C.C., 2001. Fortification of common Nigerian food-Cassava meals. Food Nutr. Bull., 22: 423-426.
8. Asonye, C.C., 2003. Difficulties, strategies and outcomes of efforts to eradicate vitamin A deficiency in Nigeria. Sight Life Newslett., 2: 15-17.
9. Balmer, J.E. and R. Blomhoff, 2002. Gene expression regulation by retinoic acid. J. Lipid Res., 43: 1773-1808.
10. Basu, S., B. Sengupta and P.K.R. Paladhi, 2003. Single megadose of vitamin A supplementation of Indian mothers and morbidity in breastfed young infants. Postgrad. Med. J., 79: 397-402.
11. Bates, C.J., 1995. Fat-Soluble vitamins: Vitamin A. Lancet, 345: 31-34.
12. Bay, E., 1997. Control of micronutrient deficiencies in Central America. Nutriview, 4: 4-5.
13. Bhandari, N., M.K. Bhan and S. Sazawal, 1994. Impact of massive doses of vitamin A given to preschool children with acute diarrhoea on subsequent respiratory and diarrhoeal morbidity. Br. Med. J., 309: 1404-1407.
14. Bhandari, N., R. Bahl, S. Sazawal and M.K. Bhan, 1997. Breast-feeding status alters the effect of vitamin A treatment during acute diarrhoea in children. J. Nutr., 127: 59-63.
15. Blaauw, R., 1999. Safety of micronutrients. South Afr. J. Clin. Nutr., Micronutrient Supplement: 29-34.
16. Black, R.E., 1993. Persistent diarrhoea in children of developing countries. Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J., 12: 751-761.
17. Blaner, W.S., 1998. Recent advances in understanding the molecular basis of vitamin A action. Sight Life Newslett., 2: 3-6.
18. Blomhoff, R., 1994. Vitamin A in Health and Disease. 1st Edn. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York.
19. Blum, M., 1997. Status paper on food fortification: A key strategy to end micronutrient malnutrition. Nutriview, Special Issue: 1-17.
20. Boron, B., J. Hupert and D.H. Barch, 1988. Effect of zinc deficiency on hepatic enzymes regulating vitamin A status. J. Nutr., 118: 995-1001.
21. Brody, T., 1999. Nutritional Biochemistry. 2nd Edn. Academic Press, New York, pp: 554-565.
22. Brunken, G.S. and H. Flores, 1994. Why do diets lack vitamin A? Nutriview, 3: 1-3.
23. Capanzana, M.V. and C.V.C. Barba, 2004. Fortification of cooking oil with vitamin A in the Philippines: A successful public private partnership. Sight Life Newslett., 1: 11-12.
24. Chong, M., 2003. Acceptance of golden rice in the Philippine rice bowl. Nature, 421: 971-972.
25. Chung, S.S.W., X.Y. Wang and D.J. Wolgemuth, 2005. Male sterility in mice lacking retinoic acid receptor a involves specific abnormalities in spermiogenesis. Differentiation, 73: 188-198.
26. Chytil, F., 1992. The lungs and vitamin A. Am. J. Physiol., [Lung Cell Mol. Physiol.], 262: L517-L527.
27. Colbert, M.C., 2002. Retinoids and cardiovascular developmental defects. Cardiovasc. Toxicol., 2: 25-39.
28. Cottrell, R.C., 1991. Nutritional aspects of palm oil. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 53: 989S-1009S.
29. Coutsoudis, A., P. Kiepiela, H.M. Coovadia and M. Bronghton, 1992. Vitamin A. supplementation enhances specific IgG antibody levels and total lymphocyte numbers, while improving morbidity in measles. Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J., 91: 203-209.
30. Dada, V.K., 2002. Xerophthalmia: A national health problem. J. Ind. Med. Assoc., 15: 179-180.
31. Dary, O. and J.O. Mora, 2002. Food fortification to reduce vitamin A deficiency. International vitamin A consultative group recommendations. J. Nutr., 132: 2927-2933.
32. De Pee, S., C.E. West, D. Permaesih, S. Maruti, K.D. Muhilal and J.G. Hautvast, 1998. Orange fruit is more effective than are dark green leafy vegetables in increasing serum concentration of retinol and β-carotene in school children in Indonesia. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 68: 1058-1067.
33. Devlin, T.M., 2006. Textbook of Biochemistry with Clinical Correlations. 6th Edn. Wiley-Liss (A John Wiley and Sons Inc. Publication), Hoboken, New Jersey, pp: 1093-1095.
34. D-Souza, R.M. and R. D-Souza, 2002. Vitamin A for preventing secondary infection in children with measles-a systematic review. J. Trop. Pediatr., 48: 72-77.
35. Edem, D.O., 1999. Comparative Biochemical and Haematological Studies on rats fed various levels of palm oil-containing diets. Ph. D Thesis, University of Calabar, Nigeria.
36. Edem, D.O., O.U. Eka and I.B. Umoh, 2002. Feeding of red palm oil-supplemented diets to rats may impact positively on vitamin A status. Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr., 53: 285-291.
37. Englberger, L., 1999. Promotion of vitamin A-rich foods in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Sight Life Newslett., 4: 13-17.
38. FAO, 1992. World food supplies and prevalence of chronic undernutrition in developing regions as assessed in 1992. ESS/MISC/1/92, FAO Rome.
39. Fawzi, W.W., T.C. Chalmers, M.G. Herrera and F. Mosteller, 1993. Vitamin A supplementation and child mortality. A meta analysis. J. Am. Med. Assoc., 269: 893-903.
40. Feachem, R.G., 1987. Vitamin A deficiency and diarrhoea: A review of interrelationships and their implications for the control of xerophthalmia and diarrhoea. Trop. Dis. Bull., 84: 1-16.
41. Feuerer, M., K. Eulenburg, C. Loddenkemper, A. Hammann and J. Huehn, 2006. Self limitation of Th 1-mediated inflammation by interferon-γ. J. Immun., 176: 2857-2863.
42. Flores, H., M.B. Guerra, A.C.A. Cavalcanti, F.A.C.S. Campos, M.C.N.A. Azevedo and M.B.M. Silva, 1994. Bioavailability of vitamin A in a synthetic rice premix. J. Food Sci., 59: 371-372.
43. Friedman, A., A. Meidovsky, G. Leitner and D. Sklan, 1991. Decreased resistance and immune response to Escherichia coli infection in chicks with low or high intakes of vitamin A. J. Nutr., 121: 395-400.
44. Garcia-Casal, M.N., M. Layrisse, L. Solano, M.A. Baron, F. Arguello, D. Llovera, J. Ramirez, I. Leets and E. Tropper, 1998. Vitamin A and ?-carotene can improve nonheme iron absorption from rice, wheat and corn by humans. J. Nutr., 128: 646-650.
45. Germann, I., 1994. Beta -carotene: Inducer of cell -cell communication. Int. Food Ingredients, 4: 1-5.
46. Gerster, H., 1993. Anticarcinogenic effect of common carotenoids. Int. J. Vit. Nutr. Res., 63: 93-121.
47. Glasziou, P.P. and D.E.M. Mackerras, 1993. Vitamin A supplementation in infectious diseases: A meta analysis. Br. Med. J., 306: 366-370.
48. Gouado, I., 1994. Status Vitaminique A et E des populations rurales del' Ouest et de 1' Extreme-Nord du Cameroun. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Yaounde 1, Cameroun.
49. Gouado, I. and A.R. Ejoh, 2005. Prevention and control of VAD in Cameroon. Sight Life Newslett., 1: 39-41.
50. Grubesic, R.B., 2004. Children aged 6-60 months in Nepal may require a vitamin A supplement regardless of dietary intake from plant and animal sources. Food Nutr. Bull., 25: 248-255.
51. Gudas, L.J., M.B. Sporn and A.B. Roberts, 1994. Cellular Biology and Biochemistry of the Retinoids. In: The Retinoids, Biology, Chemistry and Medicine, 2nd Edn., Sporn, M.B., A.B. Roberts and D.S. Goodman, (Eds.). Raven Press, New York, pp: 443-520.
52. Gujral, S., R. Abbi and T. Gopaldas, 1993. Vitamin A supplementation and morbidity in children. J. Trop. Pediatr., 39: 89-89.
53. Halvadar, P.V., 1991. Recurrent vitamin a deficiency and fatty liver. J. Trop. Pediatr., 37: 87-88.
54. Hedrén, E., G. Mulokozi and U. Svanberg, 2002. In vitro accessibility of carotenes from leafy green vegetables cooked with sunflower oil or red palm oil. Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr., 53: 445-453.
55. Huang, H.S.F., G. Dyrenfurth, G.L. Gunsalus and C. Hemberee, 1985. Effect of vitamin a deficiency upon gonadotropin response to gonadotropin-releasing hormone. Biol. Reprod., 33: 1176-1187.
56. Humphrey, J.H., K.P. West and A. Sommer, 1992. Vitamin A deficiency and attributable mortality among under-5-year olds. WHO Bull., 70: 225-232.
57. Humphrey, J.H., T. Agoestina, L. Wu, A. Usmen, M. Nurachim, D. Subardja, S. Hidayat, J. Tielsch, K.P. West and A. Sommer, 1996. Impact of neonatal vitamin a supplementation on infant morbidity and mortality. J. Pediatr., 128: 489-496.
58. Humphrey, J.H. and A.L. Rice, 2000. Vitamin A supplementation of young infants. Lancet, 356: 422-424.
59. Ihedioha, J.I., C.N. Chineme and J.O.A. Okoye, 2003. The leukocytic and parasitaemic profiles and immune response of rats treated with refinyl palmitate before infection with Trypanosoma brucei. J. Comp. Pathol., 129: 241-250.
60. Jorymar, L., R. Tania, O. Pabio and A. Daysi, 2007. High levels of interferon-? (IFN-?) in adolescents with vitamin a deficiency. Sight Life Newslett., 2: 13-15.
61. Kasner, P., P. Chambon and M. Leid, 1994. Role of Nuclear Retinoic Acid Receptor in the Regulation of Gene Expression. In: Vitamin a in Health and Disease, Blomhoff, R. (Ed.). Marcel Dekker, New York, pp: 189-238.
62. Kraus, V.M., H. Delisle and N.W. Solomons, 1998. Fortified foods contribute one half of recommended vitamin A intake in poor Guatemalan toddlers. J. Nutr., 128: 860-864.
63. Kritchevsky, D., 2000. Impact of red palm oil on human nutrition and health. Food Nutr. Bull., 21: 182-188.
64. Lamm, D.L., D.R. Riggs, J.S. Shriver, P.F. Van Gilder, J.F. Rach and J.I. Dettaven, 1994. Megadose vitamin in bladder cancer: A double -blind clinical trial. J. Urol., 151: 21-26.
65. Lietz, G., C.J.K. Henry, G. Mulokozi, J.K.L. Mugyabuso, A. Ballart, G.D. Ndossi, W. Lorri and A. Tomkins, 2001. Comparison of supplemental red palm oil and sunflower oil on maternal vitamin a status. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 74: 501-509.
66. Lin, K.G., 2003. Update on the prevalence of malnutrition among children in Asia. Nepal Med. Coll. J., 5: 113-122.
67. Mahensho, H., 1994. Vitamin A fortification of shelf-stable margarine in the Philippines. Two decades of progress linking knowledge to action. Report of the 26 International Vitamin A Consultative Group Meeting, Chang Rai, Thailand, October 1994.
68. Mangelsdorf, D.J., C. Thummel, M. Beato, P. Herrlich, G. Schutz, K. Umenoso, B. Blumberg, P. Kastner, M. Mark, P. Chambon and R.M. Evans, 1995. The nuclear receptor superfamily: The second decade. Cell, 83: 835-839.
69. Mathews-Roth, M.M., 1993. Carotenoids in erythropoietic porphyria and other photosensitivity diseases. Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 691: 127-138.
70. McCaffery, P.J., J. Adams, M., Maden and M.E. Rosa, 2003. Too much of a good thing: Retinoic acids as an endogenous regulator of neural differentiation and exogenous teratogen. Eur. J. Neurosci., 18: 457-472.
71. McLaren, D.S. and M. Frigg, 2001. Sight and Life Manual on Vitamin A Deficiency Disorders. 2nd Edn. Task Force Sight and Life, Basel, Switzerland, pp: 9-19, 21-36, 79-86, 117-118.
72. Melhus, H., K. Michaelsson, A. Kindmark, R. Bergström, K. Holmberg, H. Mallmin, A. Wolk and S. Ljunghall, 1998. Excessive dietary intake of vitamin a is associated with reduced bone mineral density and increased risk for hip fracture. Ann. Intern. Med., 12: 770-778.
73. Mitra, A.K., J.O. Alvarez and C.B. Stephenson, 1998. Increased urinary retinol loss in children with severe infections. Lancet, 351: 1033-1034.
74. Mohapatra, S. and R. Manorama, 1997. The protective effect of red palm oil in comparison with massive vitamin a dose in combating vitamin a deficiency in Orissa, India. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr., 66: 246-250.
75. Mora, J.O., 1995. Issues in food fortification. Lessons from Latin America. Nutriview, 4: 1-4.
76. Mora, J.O., 2003. Proposed vitamin A fortification levels. J. Nutr., 133: 2990S-2993S.
77. Morriss-Kay, G., 1992. Retinoids in Normal Development and Teratogenesis. 1st Edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford, London.
78. Mulokozi, G., E. Hedren and U. Svanberg, 2004. In vitro accessibility and intake of β-carotene from cooked green leafy vegetables and their estimated contribution to vitamin a requirements. Plant Food Hum. Nutr., 59: 1-9.
79. Murray, R.K., D.K. Granner, P.A. Mayes and V.W. Rodwell, 2000. Harper's Biochemistry. 25th Edn. Appleton and Lange, (McGraw-Hill Health Professional Division), New York, pp: 642-645, 660, 870.
80. Muslimatum, S., 2001. Nutrition of Indonesian women during pregnancy and lactation: A focus on vitamin A and iron. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wageningen, The Netherlands.
81. Narasinga Rao, B.S., 2000. Potential use of red palm oil combating vitamin a deficiency in India. Food Nutr. Bull., 21: 202-211.
82. Nilsson, A., G. Trøen, L.B. Petersen, S. Reppe, K.R. Norum and R. Blomhoff, 1997. Retinyl ester storage is altered in liver stellate cells and in HL60 cells transfected with cellular retinol-binding protein type I. Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol., 29: 381-389.
83. Noh Sang, K. and I. Koo Sung, 2003. Low zinc intake decreases the lymphatic output of retinol in rats infused intraduodenally with β-carotene. J. Nutr. Biochem., 14: 147-153.
84. Northrop-Clewes, C., 2001. 25 years of progress in controlling vitamin a deficiency: Looking to the future. 10th International Vitamin A Consultative Group (IVACG) meeting held in Hanoi, Vietnam, 12-15 February, Sight and Life Newsletter, pp: 7-31.
85. NRC, 1989. Recommended Dietary Allowances. 10th Edn. National Academy Press, Washington DC., USA., pp: 284.
86. Olson, J.A., 1994a. Vitamins: The tortuous path from needs to fantasies. J. Nutr., 124:1771 S-1776S.
87. Olson, J.A., 1994b. Vitamin A, Retinoids and Carotenoids. In: Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, Shils, M.E., J.A. Olson and M. Shike (Eds.). 8th Edn. Pa, Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, pp: 287-307.
88. Ong, A.S.H. and S.H. Goh, 2002. Palm oil: A healthful and cost effective dietary component. Food Nutr. Bull., 23: 11-22.
89. Oso, O.O., P.O. Abiodun, O.O. Omotade and D. Oyewole, 2003. Vitamin a status and nutritional intake of carotenoids of pre-school children in Ijaye-orile community in Nigeria. J. Trop. Pediatr., 49: 42-47.
90. Parke, D. and C. Ioannides, 1981. The role of nutrition in toxicology. Ann. Rev. Nutr., 1: 235-256.
91. Penniston, K.L. and S.A. Tanumihardjo, 2003. Vitamin a in dietary supplements and fortified food: Too much of a good thing. J. Am. Dietetic Assoc., 103: 1185-1187.
92. Potrykus, I., 2001. Golden rice and beyond. Plant Physiol., 125: 1157-1161.
93. Potrykus, I., 2003. Nutritionally enhanced rice to combat malnutrition disorders. Nutr. Rev., 61: 101-104.
94. Rahman, M.M, S.H. Vermund, M.F. Wahed, C.J. Fuchs, A.H. Baqui and J.O. Alvarez, 2001. Simultaneous zinc and vitamin a supplementation in Bangladeshi children: Randomised double-blind controlled trial. Br. Med. J., 323: 314-318.
95. Rao, B.S.N., 2000. Potential use of red palm oil in combating vitamin a deficiency in India. Food Nutr. Bull., 21: 202-211.
96. Ribaya-Mercado, J.D., 2002. Influence of dietary fat on β-carotene absorption and bioconversion into vitamin A. Nutr. Rev., 60: 104-110.
97. Rondo, P.H.C., 2001. Vitamin a and neonatal anthropometry. J. Trop. Pediatr., 47: 307-310.
98. Roos, N., M. Islam and S.H. Thilsted, 2003. Small fish as an important dietary source of vitamin a and calcium in rural Bangladesh. Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr., 4: 329-339.
99. Rosales, F.J., 2002. Vitamin a supplementation of vitamin a deficient measles patients lowers the risk of measles-related pneumonia in Zambian children. J. Nutr., 132: 3700-3703.
100. Ross, A.C., 1993. Cellular metabolism and activation of retinoids: Roles of cellular retinol-binding proteins. FASEB J., 7: 317-327.
101. Ross, A.C., 1996. Vitamin A in defenses against infection. Nutriview, 2: 1-3.
102. Ross, A.C. and U.G. Hammerling, 1994. Retinoids and Immune System. In: The Retinoids: Biology, Chemistry and Medicine, Sporn, M.B., A.B. Roberts and D.S. Goodman. (Eds.). 2nd Edn., Raven Press, New York, pp: 521-543.
103. Rothman, K.J., L.L. Moore, M.R. Singer, U.S. Nguyen, S. Mannino and A. Milunsky, 1995. Teratogenicity of high vitamin a intake. New Eng. J. Med., 333: 1369-1373.
104. Rowe, A., 1997. Retinoid X receptors. Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol., 29: 275-278.
105. Rukmini, C., 1994. Red palm oil to combat vitamin a deficiency in developing countries. Food Nutr. Bul., 15: 126-129.
106. Saari, J.C., 1999. Retinoids in Mammalian Vision. In: The Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology of the Retinoids, Nau, H. and W.S. Blaner, (Eds.). Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, pp: 563-585.
107. Schiermeier, Q., 2001. Designer rice to combat diet deficiencies makes it debut. Nature, 409: 511-511.
108. Scheuring, J.F., J.O. Schierle and M. Frigg, 1996. Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes bring vitamin A to Malians. Sight Life Newslett., 4: 6-7.
109. Schmidt, M.K., 2001. The role of maternal nutrition in growth and health of Indonesian infants: A focus on vitamin A and iron. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Wageningen, The Netherlands.
110. Semba, R.D., 1994. Vitamin A, immunity and infection. Clin. Infect. Dis., 19: 489-499.
111. Sempertegui, F., 2001. Commentary: Is vitamin A playing a hidden role in children's lung function? Int. J. Epidemiol., 30: 465-466.
112. Serghides, L. and K.C. Kain, 2002. Mechanism of protection induced by vitamin A in falciparum malaria. Lancet, 359: 1404-1406.
113. Shamin, A.A., M.G. Mawla, Z. Islam and M.S. Rahman, 2003. Palmyra palm-an under exploited carotene-rich fruit. Sight Life Newslett., 2: 21-24.
114. Shenai, J.P., 1994. Vitamin A in Lung Development and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. In: Vitamin A in Health and Disease, Blomhoff, R. (Ed.). Marcel Dekker, New York, pp: 323-342.
115. Singh, V. and K.P. West, 2004. Vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmia among school-aged children in Southeastern Asia. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr., 58: 1342-1349.
116. Smith, F.R., R. Suskind, O. Thanagkul, C. Lies and O.R. Goodman, 1975. Plasma vitamin A, retinol binding protein and pre-albumin concentrations in protein-calorie malnutrition. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 28: 732-738.
117. Solomons, N.W., 1998. Plant sources of vitamin A and human nutrition. Red palm oil does the trick. Nutr. Rev., 56: 309-311.
118. Solomons, N.W. and M. Orozco, 2003. Alleviation of vitamin A deficiency with palm fruit and its products. Asia Pacific J. Clin. Nutr., 12: 373-384.
119. Sommer, A., J. Kartz and I. Tarwotjo, 1984. Increased risk of respiratory disease and diarrhoea in children with pre-existing mild vitamin A deficiency. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 40: 1090-1095.
120. Sommer, A., J. Kartz and K.P. West, 1996. Vitamin A Deficiency: Health, Survival and Vision. 1st Edn. Oxford University Press, New York, pp: 19-250.
121. Sommer, A., I. Tarwotjo, E. Djunaedi, K.P. West, A.A. Loeden, R. Tilden and L. Miele, 1986. Impact of vitamin A supplementation on mortality: A randomised controlled community trial. Lancet, 327: 1169-1173.
122. Spears, K., C. Cheney and J. Zerzan, 2004. Low plasma retinol concentrations increase the risk of developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and long-term respiratory disability very- low-birth-weight infants. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 80: 1589-1594.
123. Spinnler, B.A., 2003. A place for palm fruit to eliminate vitamin A deficiency. Asia Pacific J. Clin. Nutr., 12: 369-372.
124. Sporn, M.B., A.B. Robert and D.S. Goodman, 1994. The Retinoids. 2nd Edn. Raven Press, New York.
125. Strube, Y.N.J., J.L. Beard and A.C. Ross, 2002. Iron deficiency and marginal vitamin A deficiency affected growth, hematological indices and the regulation of iron metabolism genes in rats. J. Nutr., 132: 3607-3615.
126. Suharno, D., C.E. West, K.D. Muhalil and J.G.A.G. Hautvast, 1993. Supplementation with vitamin A and iron for nutritional anaemia in pregnant women in West Java, Indonesia. Lancet, 342: 1325-1328.
127. Surridge, S., 2004. Feast or famine? Nature, 428:360-361.
128. Thatcher, A.J., C.M. Lee and J.W. Erdman, 1998. Tissue stores of β-carotene are not conserved for later use as a source of vitamin A during compromised vitamin A status in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). J. Nutr., 128: 1179-1185.
129. Thurnham, D.I., 1993. Vitamin A, iron and haemopoiesis. Lancet, 342: 1312-1313.
130. Thurnham, D.I., C.A. Northrop-Clewes, F.S.W. McCullough, B.S. Das and P.G. Lunn, 2000. Innate immunity, gut integrity and vitamin A in Gambian and Indian infants. J. Infant Dis., 182: S23-S28.
131. Tumwegamire, S., R. Kapinga, D. Zhang, C. Crisman and S. Agili, 2004. Opportunities for promoting orange-flesh sweet potato as mechanism for combating VAD is sub-Saharan Africa. Afr. Crop Sci. J., 12: 241-252.
132. Udomkesmalee, E., 1992. Vitamin A deficiency in Asia. Vital News, 3: 1-5.
133. Van Eys, J., 1991. Niacin. In: Handbook of Vitamins, Machlin, L.H., (Ed.). 2nd Edn., Marcel Dekker, New York, pp: 311-340.
134. Van Poppel, G., 1993. Carotenoids and cancer: An update with emphasis on human intervention studies. Eur. J. Cancer, 29: 1335-1344.
135. Van Vliet, T., M.F. Van Vlissingen, F. Van Schaik and H. Van den Berg, 1996. Beta-carotene absorption and cleavage in rats is affected by the vitamin A content of the diets. J. Nutr., 126: 499-508.
136. Vijayaraghavan, K., U. Nayak, M.S. Bamji, G.N.V. Ramana and V. Reddy, 1997. Home gardening for combating vitamin A deficiency in rural India. Food Nutr. Bull., 18: 337-343.
137. Vuong, L.T., S.R. Dueker and S.P. Murphy, 2002. Plasma β-carotene and retinol concentrations of children increase after a 30-day supplementation with the fruit Momordica cochinchinensis (gac). Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 75: 872-879.
138. Wang, T.W., H. Zhang and J.M. Parent, 2005. Retinoic acid regulates postnatal neurogenesis in the murine subventricular zone-olfactory tube bulb pathway. Development, 132: 2721-2732.
139. West, K.P., 2002. Extent of vitamin A deficiency among preschool children and women of reproduction age. J. Nutr., 132: 2857S-2866S.
140. Whitney, E.N., E.M.N. Hamilton and S.R. Rolfes, 1990. Understanding Nutrition. 5th Edn. West Publishing Co., USA, pp: 238-251.
141. WHO, 1992. Prevention of childhood blindness. Geneva: World Health Organization.
142. WHO, 1995. Global prevalence of vitamin A deficiency. MDIS Working Paper No.2.WHO/NUT/95.3, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
143. WHO, 1996. Indicators for assessing vitamin A deficiency and their application in monitoring and evaluating intervention programs. Geneva. World Health Organization.
144. Wiedermann, U., L.A. Hanson, J. Holmgren, H. Kahu and U.I. Dahlgren, 1993. Impaired mucosal antibody response to the cholera toxin in vitamin A deficient rats immunized with oral cholera vaccine. Infect. Immun., 61: 3952-3957.
145. Wiegand, U.W., S. Hartmann and H. Hummler, 1998. Safety of vitamin A: Recent results. Int. J. Vit. Res., 68: 411-416.
146. Wilson, L., E. Gale and M. Maden, 2003. The role of retinoic acid in the morphogenesis of the neural tube. J. Anat., 203: 357-368.
147. Wongsiriroj, N. and W.S. Blaner, 2004. Vitamin A storage and action in the liver. Sight Life Newslett., 2: 4-10.
148. World Bank, 1994. Enriching lives: Overcoming vitamin and mineral malnutrition in developing countries. World Bank, Washington, DC., USA.
149. Ye, X., S. al-Babili, A. Kloti, J. Zhang, P. Lucca, P. Beyer and I. Potrykus, 1997. Engineering the provitamin A (beta-carotene) biosynthetic pathway into (carotenoid-free) rice endosperm. Plant J., 11: 1071-1078.
150. Zachman, R.D., 1995. Role of vitamin A in lung development. J. Nutr., 125: 1634S-1638S.
151. Zhao, Z. and A.C. Ross, 1995. Retinoic acid repletion restores the number of leukocytes and their subsets and stimulates natural cytotoxicity in vitamin A-deficient rats. J. Nutr., 125: 2064-2073.