Plasma levels of vitamin D and some metabolites in marine mammals

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Keiver, K. M., Ronald, K., Draper, H. H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1988
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Beluga*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z88-190; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z88-190

Levels of vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and calcium were determined in the plasma of various captive and wild pinniped and cetacean species. Vitamin D (< 0.4–5 ng∙mL −1 ) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (4–84 ng∙mL −1 ) levels in the pinniped plasma were similar to those found in nonmarine mammals. 24,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D levels in seals (3–48 ng∙mL −1 ) were high compared with those of other mammals, and the ratios of 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D to 25-hydroxyvitamin D in fasting pups were extremely high. The belugas and bottlenosed dolphins had very high levels of both 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D compared with the pinnipeds and other mammals, but plasma calcium levels were normal for these species of cetaceans.