Plasma retinol and tocopherols of breast-feeding Sudanese women

The status of vitamin A and vitamin E has been evaluated in 69 well-nourished breast-feeding Sudanese women of two villages of the irrigated Gezira area. All were consuming local Sudanese food. Plasma retinol, α-tocopherol, and total tocopherol were estimated by HPLC. Tocopherol values have been related to total plasma lipids, cholesterol and phospholipids. The plasma retinol concentrations ranged between 29.19-141.37 μg/dl (mean 63.01 μg/dl). All values are well above 20 μg/dl, the lower cut-off point of normal, and reveal a good vitamin A status. The ratio of total tocopherol/total lipids (mg/g) was with 1.35-2.72 far above the lowest normal ratio of 0.60. This means an excellent vitamin E status. Neither the retinol nor the tocopherol values showed a correlation to parity or duration of breast-feeding.