DETECTION AND COMPARISON OF CAROTENOID AND RETINOL CONCENTRATIONS IN THE SERUM AND BODY FAT OF SHEEP AND GOATS

Sheep and goats are kn#own to have white body fat even when they are grazed on green pastures which contain considerable quantities of carotenoids, the pigments that cause yellow fat in cattle. The reported tarotenoid concentrations in the serum of sheep ranged from 0 to 0.18ug/ml (Peirce, 1946). No carotenoids have been detected in goats excex>t in their colostrum (Chanda, 1 9 5 2 ) . The major dietary carotenoid, beta-carotene, is-capable of being converted to the colourless retinol in the mucosal layer of the small intestine (Goodwin, 1952). Unconverted carotenoids and retinol are then absorbed, transported in plasma and deposited in various tissues. The aim of this study is to detect whether goats absorb any carotenoids at all and to compare the carotenoid and retinol concentrations in the serum and fat of sheep and goats.