normal values and seasonal differences in the serum concentration of vitamin aand beta-carotene in the iranian camel (camelus dromedarius)

background: vitamin a which is found in different tissuesand organs plays a particular role in detecting clinical signs invarious deficiency conditions. however, sometimes the marginaldeficiency is present in a way that clinical signs are not visible butperformance defects, such as infertility is seen. objectives: inthis study, the normal baseline levels of vitamin aand β-carotene inclinically healthy camels (camelus dromedarius) in the yazdprovince were investigated. methods: a total of 168 iraniancamels of both sexes were sampled from february 2009 to july2010. spectrophoto-metry was used for measuring the serumvalues. results: the mean±se concentration of vitamin aand β-carotene were 63.9±4.7 and 9±1.1 μg/dl, respectively. although,the β-carotene concentr-ation was significantly higher in summer,vitamin awas not influenced by season. no significant differencein the serum levels of the measured parameters was observed indifferent ages and sexes. conclusions: the results of this study,for the first time, indicate the concentration of vitamin a and β-carotene in the camels in iran. this finding can be used as a referenceguide for evaluation of the deficiency or excess of vitamin aand β-carotene in camels in iran. furthermore, due to the lower levels ofvitamin a and β-carotene in iranian dromedaries during winter,supplementary feeding of vitamin a is recommended during thisseason.