Effect of feeding various dietary vitamin B₆ concentrations during gestation and lactation on vitamin B₆ level in liver and carcass of rat dams

Abstract

The present investigation was designed to determine the vitamin B₆ concentration in liver and carcass of rat dams fed various dietary vitamin B₆ levels during gestation and lactation. Therefore, gravid female rats received 0.6, 3, 6, 18 or 180 mg vitamin B₆ per kg diet. After parturition each group was divided into 2 groups of 8 dams each, which received then a diet with 3, respectively 6 mg/kg vitamin B₆ during lactation. At the end of the experiment at day 14 of lactation weight gain and food consumption as well as liver and carcass weights did not differ within the groups. The present data clearly show that both in liver and carcass of lactating rats, there exists only a slight dose‐response‐relationship between the dietary vitamin B₆ intake and the vitamin B₆ concentration in body tissue. Moreover, liver reflects the various vitamin B₆ supplies during gestation and lactation somewhat better than carcass. The distribution of the vitamers did not differ among the groups and was therefore independent of the vitamin B₆ supply. The present findings, especially regarding the liver, elucidate, that an adequate vitamin B₆ supply during lactation can not compensate for a lack of vitamin B₆ during gestation and vice versa a high dose of vitamin B₆ during gestation did not completely protect against a suboptimal vitamin B₆ during lactation.

Key words:

• Vitamin B₆
• Gestation
• Lactation
• Liver
• Carcass
• Rat