Interrelationship of vitamins A and C on tissue ubiquinones and sterols of rats and guinea pigs

Cholesterol: vitamin C controls its transformation to bile acids

Cholesterol accumulates in the blood serum and in the liver of guinea pigs with chronic latent vitamin C deficiency. The reason for this is the decreased rate of transformation of cholesterol to bile acids in the liver of animals deficient in vitamin C. A significant direct correlation exists between the vitamin C concentration in the liver and the rate of cholesterol transformation to bile acids.

Vitamin A status and the metabolism of cholesterol in the rat

1. The interrelationship between cholesterol and vitamin A metabolism has been studied in rats.

2. The effect of cholesterol feeding in increasing the liver storage of cholesterol w-as enhanced during vitamin A deficiency.

3. This effect was due to an increased rate of absorption of cholesterol and not due to a decreased turnover rate.

4. Feeding of high levels of vitamin A markedly depressed the cholesterol absorption; however, its turnover was unaffected.