Figure 1.

Serum retinol, retinyl ester and RBP levels. (A) Serum retinol and (C) retinyl ester levels were measured by HPLC analysis. Retinyl ester concentrations are the sum of retinyl oleate, linoleate, palmitate and stearate levels. Results are expressed as mean ± SD; n=6-7 animals/group; (B) serum RBP levels of male rats were measured by western blot by using albumin as loading control. Molecular mass (kDa) of detected proteins is indicated on the left side of the panels. Statistical analysis as described in the materials and methods. RBP, retinol-binding protein; HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography.