Hepatic vitamin A status of rats during feeding of the hepatocarcinogen 2-aminoanthraquinone.

Dietary administration of the dyestuff intermediate 2-aminoanthraquinone (AAQ) at a 2% level for periods of 2, 4, 8 or 12 weeks decreased the total liver vitamin A significantly (P less than 0.001) at all time periods in both male and female rats, compared to controls and pair-fed controls, respectively. A decrease in the body weights of AAQ-fed rats was much more pronounced in the females than male rats.