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Summary
Based on the results of experiments in which aqueous dispersions of carotenoid pigments have been administered intravenously to rats, it is suggested that the mechanism of conversion of carotenes to vitamin A in the animal body involves a rapid, non-specific oxidation of the carotene molecule to retinene which is then reduced to vitamin A alcohol. The initial breakdown of the carotene molecule would seem to involve an unsaturated lipid-coupled oxidation with haematin compounds of the blood or tissues as catalysts.