A simple and robust quantitative analysis of retinol and retinyl palmitate using a liquid chromatographic isocratic method

Vitamin A is a vital nutritional substances that regulates biological activities including development, but is also associated with disease onset. The extent of vitamin A intake influences the retinoid content in the liver, the most important organ for the storage of vitamin A. Measurement of endogenous retinoid in biological samples is important to understand retinoid homeostasis. Here we present a reliable, highly sensitive, and robust method for the quantification of retinol and retinyl palmitate using a reverse-phase HPLC/ UV isocratic method. We determined the impact of chronic dietary vitamin A on retinoid levels in livers of mice fed an AIN-93G semi-purified diet (4 IU/g) compared with an excess vitamin A diet (1000 IU/g) over a period from birth to 10 weeks of age. Coefficients of variation for intra-assays for both retinoids were less than 5%, suggesting a higher reproducibility than any other HPLC/UV gradient method. Limits of detection and quantification for retinol were 0.08 pmol, and 0.27 pmol, respectively, which are remarkably higher than previous results. Supplementation with higher doses of vitamin A over the study period significantly increased liver retinol and retinyl palmitate concentrations in adult mice. The assays described here provide a sensitive and rigorous quantification of endogenous retinol and retinyl palmitate, which can be used to help determine retinoid homeostasis in disease states, such as toxic hepatitis and liver cancer.