Plasma Carotenoids and Fat Mobilization in Stall-fed Cattle

Abstract

IN the course of work on the metabolism of starving sheep it was found that there was an association between increased depot fat mobilization, as indicated by the plasma content of non-esterified fatty acid, and the appearance of a yellow pigmentation in the plasma¹. This pigment was shown to be xanthophyll², and a statistically highly significant and reproducible relationship was demonstrated between plasma non-esterified fatty acid level and xanthophyll content³. The possibility was considered that xanthophyll is passively mobilized from adipose tissue during fat mobilization and it therefore appeared that a similar relationship might obtain in the cow where carotenoids are usually present in the plasma.