Name: Vitamin A
Class:
Mechanism: Component of visual pigment. Maintains specialized epithelia and resistance to infxn.
Absorption:
Dist.:
Metabolism.:
Excretion, t½:
Toxicity/S.E.s: Megadose—teratogenic (face, head, brain, heart), thickening of the leg bones, intracranial pressure.
Utility:
Special Features: Deficiency ® night blindness, xerophthalmia, blindness, squamous metaplasia, infxn vulnerability (esp. measles). Liver damage ® need.