Concentrations of retinol, 3,4-didehydroretinol, and retinyl esters in plasma of free-ranging birds of prey

• Published in: Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition
• Main Authors: Mueller, K., Raila, Jens, Altenkamp, Rainer, Schmidt, D., Dietrich, R., Hurtienne, Andrea, Wink, M., Krone, O., Brunnberg, Leo, Schweigert, Florian J. (Prof. Dr.)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Institut für Ernährungswissenschaft; Accipiter gentilis; Haliaeetus albicilla; Northern Goshawk; osprey; Pandion haliaetus
• Online Access: https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/opus4-ubp/frontdoor/index/index/docId/35462; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0396.2011.01219.x

This study investigated vitamin A compounds in the plasma of healthy free-ranging Central European raptors with different feeding strategies. Plasma samples of nestlings of white-tailed sea eagle [white-tailed sea eagle (WTSE), Haliaeetus albicilla) (n = 32), osprey (Pandion haliaetus) (n = 39), northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) (n = 25), common buzzard (Buteo buteo) (n = 31), and honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) (n = 18) and adults of WTSE (n = 10), osprey (n = 31), and northern goshawk (n = 45) were investigated with reversed-phase-high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). In WTSE, northern goshawks and common buzzards retinol were the main plasma component of vitamin A, whilst in ospreys and honey buzzards, 3,4-didehydroretinol predominated. The median of the retinol plasma concentration in the nestlings group ranged from 0.12 to 3.80 mu M and in the adult group from 0.15 to 6.13 mu M. Median plasma concentrations of 3,4-didehydroretinol in nestlings ranged from 0.06 to 3.55 mu M. In adults, northern goshawks had the lowest plasma concentration of 3,4-didehydroretinol followed by WTSE and ospreys. The plasma of all investigated species contained retinyl esters (palmitate, oleate, and stearate). The results show considerable species-specific differences in the vitamin A plasma concentrations that might be caused by different nutrition strategies.