The paired deuterated retinol dilution technique can be used to estimate the daily vitamin A intake required to maintain a targeted whole body vitamin A pool size in men.

The estimated average requirement (EAR) for vitamin A (VA) of adult males is based on the amount of dietary VA required to maintain adequate function and provide a modest liver VA reserve (0.07 μmol/g). In the present study, the paired-deuterated retinol dilution technique was used to estimate changes in VA pool size in Bangladeshi men from low-income, urban neighborhoods who had small initial VA pool sizes (0.059 ± 0.032 mmol, or 0.047 ± 0.025 μmol/g liver; n = 16). The men were supplemented for 60 d with 1 of 8 different levels of dietary VA, ranging from 100 to 2300 μg/d (2 men/dietary VA level). VA pool size was estimated before and after the supplementation period. The mean change (plus or minus) in VA pool size in the men was plotted against their corresponding levels of daily VA intake and a regression line was fit to the data. The level of intake at which the regression line crossed the x-axis (where estimates of VA pool size remained unchanged) was used as an estimate of the EAR. A VA intake of 254-400 μg/d was sufficient to maintain a small VA pool size (0.059 ± 0.032 mmol) in the Bangladeshi men, corresponding to a VA intake of 362-571 μg/d for a 70-kg U.S. man, which is lower than their current EAR of 625 μg/d. The data suggest that the paired-deuterated retinol dilution technique could be used for estimating the EAR for VA for population subgroups for which there are currently no direct estimates.