Vitamin A, vitamin E and retinol‐binding protein 4 (RBP4) are a focus of current obesity research in humans. The impact of body weight (BW) gain on fat‐soluble vitamins and its associated parameters in equines has not been previously reported. Ten Shetland ponies and 9 Warmblood horses, all adult geldings, non‐obese and healthy, were fed an excessive energy diet for 20 months to induce BW gain. Serum α‐tocopherol (vitamin E), retinol (vitamin A), retinol‐binding protein 4 (RBP4) and retinol/RBP4 ratio were analysed before BW gain induction and at six timepoints during the BW gaining period. The mean (±SD) % BW gain achieved during two years of excess energy intake was 29.9 ± 19.4% for ponies and 17 ± 6.74% for horses. Serum α‐tocopherol increased significantly in ponies and horses during excess energy intake and circulating α‐tocopherol levels correlated positively with α‐tocopherol intake (r = .6; p < .001). Serum retinol concentrations showed variations during the study but without relation to intake. Serum RBP4 decreased at the end of the study. The retinol/RBP4 ratio increased with BW gain without differences between ponies and horses. In comparison with human research, the increase in the retinol/RBP4 ratio was unexpected and needs further elucidation.

中文翻译：

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实验性肥胖期间小马和马的血清维生素E和维生素A浓度的变化。

维生素A，维生素E和视黄醇结合蛋白4（RBP4）是当前人类肥胖症研究的重点。体重（BW）增加对马脂溶性维生素及其相关参数的影响尚未见报道。十只设得兰群岛小马和九只温布洛德马，全部成年gel，非肥胖且健康，被喂食过多能量饮食20个月以诱导体重增加。在体重增加前和体重增加期间的六个时间点分析了血清α-生育酚（维生素E），视黄醇（维生素A），视黄醇结合蛋白4（RBP4）和视黄醇/ RBP4的比例。平均值（± SD）在两年中过量摄入能量后，小马的BW增益百分比为29.9±19.4％，马匹为17±6.74％。在摄入过多能量的过程中，小马和马的血清α-生育酚水平显着增加，循环中的α-生育酚水平与α-生育酚摄入量呈正相关（r  = .6；p  <.001）。血清视黄醇浓度在研究期间显示出变化，但与摄入量无关。在研究结束时血清RBP4降低。视黄醇/ RBP4比例随体重增加而增加，小马与马之间无差异。与人类研究相比，视黄醇/ RBP4比例的增加是出乎意料的，需要进一步阐明。