Effect of added drinking water nitrate on the vitamin A status of rabbits

In animals, chronic exposure to nitrates has been shown to affect vitamin A nutrition, and researchers have explored this effect with conflicting results. To study this relationship, 24 female rabbits were given 8, 250 or 500 mg nitrate/L drinking water for 22 w, and their second litters were given the same dose for 5 w from 18 to 53 d of age. Liver samples were analyzed for retinol and retinyl palmitate. There was no effect of the nitrate on total liver vitamin A stores, but the balance between esterified and nonesterified forms of retinol was altered in pregnant females and their weaned young.