vitamin-d-2 and retinol-palmitate

Numerous vitamin supplements are available over-the-counter to the general public. Some such supplements are available as candy-like chewable preparations to encourage consumption by children. We report 3 cases of overdose of such preparations. Each patient had taken an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 IU of vitamin A. Their circulating vitamin A (retinol and retinyl palmitate) concentrations were monitored over a 6-month period. There were no clinical or biochemical complications noted. However, there were marked increases in both retinol and retinyl palmitate concentrations above age-related reference ranges. In particular, it took 1 to 3 weeks for the serum retinol concentrations to peak and many months for them to normalize. Parents should be warned about the dangers of excessive vitamin consumption. Clinicians should be aware of the late peak in serum retinol concentrations, which may lead to late complications of vitamin A overdose.

Topics: Biotransformation; Candy; Child, Preschool; Dietary Supplements; Diterpenes; Drug Overdose; Ergocalciferols; Follow-Up Studies; Hong Kong; Humans; Hypervitaminosis A; Male; Retinyl Esters; Risk; Tablets; Vitamin A

The binding of the lipophilic nutrients, retinal, vitamin D2, and retinyl palmitate by beta-lactoglobulin was measured by analysis of changes in the fluorescence of the tryptophanyl residue of beta-lactoglobulin or the retinyl moiety. The fluorescence intensity of the tryptophanyl residue was quenched by retinoid or vitamin D binding but was enhanced by palmitate binding. The analysis of competitive binding experiments with palmitate indicated that retinal and palmitate did not compete for the same site; however, vitamin D2, which binds with a stoichiometry of 2, appeared to displace palmitate at higher concentrations. Also, the retinoids and vitamin D2 were bound more tightly than was palmitate. The results are consistent with the model in which the retinoids and vitamin D2 bind in the calyx formed by the beta-barrel; palmitate and a second molecule of vitamin D2 bind in a surface pocket near the dimer contact region. Retinyl palmitate, which has both moieties, appeared to bind at both sites.

Topics: Adsorption; Binding, Competitive; Diterpenes; Ergocalciferols; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Lactoglobulins; Retinaldehyde; Retinyl Esters; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Tryptophan; Vitamin A