Vitamin A Toxicity in Wild-caught African Green Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) after 2 Years in Captivity

摘要

PrimatelabdietstypicallycontainhighvitaminAconcentrationswhencomparedwithhumanrecommendedintakes.Inthisstudy,weanalyzedthevitaminAcontentsofliverandserumfrom13adultfemaleAfricangreenvervetmonkeys(Chlorocebusaethiops).Thesemonkeyswerewild-caughtandheldincaptivityfor2y,duringwhichtimetheyconsumedastandardprimatediet.LivervitaminAconcentration(mean±1standarddeviation)was14.6±2.3#59157;molretinol/gliver;subtoxicityinhumansisdefinedasatleast1#59157;mol/gliver.Theserumretinolconcentration(0.93±0.21#59157;M)wasnotelevated.Hypertrophyandhyperplasiaofhepaticstellatecellswerepresentwhich,inconjunctionwithelevatedhepaticvitaminAconcentrations,areevidenceoftoxicity.AlthoughtheramificationsofchronicallytoxicvitaminAstatusinexperimentalmonkeyshavenotbeendefined,thisstatemayinfluencenonhumanprimateresearchoutcomesandconfounddatainterpretation.Thevalidityofbonemineralresearchusingnonhumanprimatesisofgreatestconcern,inlightoftheassociationbetweenvitaminAtoxicityandcompromisedbonehealth.