@article{GhaffariBernhoeftEtheveetal.2019,
  author    = {Ghaffari, Morteza Hosseini and Bernhoeft, Katrin and Etheve, Stephane and Immig, Irmgard and Hoelker, Michael and Sauerwein, Helga and Schweigert, Florian J.},
  title     = {Technical note: Rapid field test for the quantification of vitamin E, beta-carotene, and vitamin A in whole blood and plasma of dairy cattle},
  series = {Journal of dairy science},
  volume    = {102},
  journal   = {Journal of dairy science},
  number    = {12},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {New York},
  issn      = {0022-0302},
  doi       = {10.3168/jds.2019-16755},
  pages     = {11744 -- 11750},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Fast and easy tests for quantifying fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin E and vitamin A, as well as beta-carotene, in whole blood without a need to preprocess blood samples could facilitate assessment of the vitamin status of dairy cattle. The objective of this study was to validate a field-portable fluorometer/spectrophotometer assay for the rapid quantification of these vitamins in whole blood and plasma of dairy cows and calves. We measured the concentrations of vitamin E and beta-carotene in whole blood and plasma from 28 dairy cows and 11 calves using the iCheck test (Bio-Analyt GmbH, Teltow, Germany) and compared the results with the current analytical standard (HPLC) in 2 independent laboratories, one at the University of Potsdam (Germany) and at one at DSM Nutritional Products Ltd. (Kaiseraugst, Switzerland). For vitamin A, the HPLC measurements were done only in the laboratory in Germany. The whole-blood concentrations of vitamin E as determined by iCheck (blood-hematocritcorrected) ranged from 1.82 to 4.99 mg/L in dairy cows and 0.34 to 3.40 mg/L in calves. These findings were moderately correlated (R-2 = 0.66) with the values assessed by HPLC in dairy cattle (cows + calves). When calves were excluded, the correlation was higher (R-2 = 0.961). The beta-carotene and vitamin A values obtained by the reference method HPLC were highly correlated with the iCheck methods in whole blood (R-2 = 0.99 and 0.88, respectively). In plasma, we observed strong correlations between the concentrations assessed by iCheck and those of HPLC for vitamin E (R-2 = 0.97), beta-carotene (R-2 = 0.98), and vitamin A (R-2 = 0.92) in dairy cattle (cows + calves). For vitamin E, beta-carotene, and vitamin A, we compared the relationship between the differences obtained by the iCheck assay and the HPLC measurements, as well as the magnitude of measurements, using Bland-Altman plots to test for systematic bias. For all 3 vitamins, the differences values were not outside the 95\% acceptability limits; we found no systematic error between the 2 methods for all 3 analytes.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{RailaEnjalbertMothesetal.2012,
  author    = {Raila, Jens and Enjalbert, Francis and Mothes, Ralf and Hurtienne, Andrea and Schweigert, Florian J.},
  title     = {Validation of a new point-of-care assay for determination of ss-carotene concentration in bovine whole blood and plasma},
  series = {Veterinary clinical pathology},
  volume    = {41},
  journal   = {Veterinary clinical pathology},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Malden},
  issn      = {0275-6382},
  doi       = {10.1111/j.1939-165X.2012.00400.x},
  pages     = {119 -- 122},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Background: beta-Carotene is an important precursor of vitamin A, and is associated with bovine fertility. beta-Carotene concentrations in plasma are used to optimize beta-carotene supplementation in cattle, but measurement requires specialized equipment to separate plasma and extract and measure beta-carotene, either using spectrophotometry or high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Objective: The objective of this study was to validate a new 2-step point-of-care (POC) assay for measuring beta-carotene in whole blood and plasma. Methods: beta-carotene concentrations in plasma from 166 cows were measured using HPLC and compared with results obtained using a POC assay, the iCheck-iEx-Carotene test kit. Whole blood samples from 23 of these cattle were also evaluated using the POC assay and compared with HPLC-plasma results from the same 23 animals. The POC assay includes an extraction vial (iEx Carotene) and hand-held photometer (iCheck Carotene). Results: Concentrations of beta-carotene in plasma measured using the POC assay ranged from 0.40 to 15.84 mg/L (n = 166). No differences were observed between methods for assay of plasma (mean +/- SD; n = 166): HPLC-plasma 4.23 +/- 2.35 mg/L; POC-plasma 4.49 +/- 2.36 mg/L. Similar good agreement was found when plasma analyzed using HPLC was compared with whole blood analyzed using the POC system (n = 23): HPLC-plasma 3.46 +/- 2.12 mg/L; POC-whole blood 3.67 +/- 2.29 mg/L. Conclusions: Concentrations of beta-carotene can be measured in blood and plasma from cattle easily and rapidly using a POC assay, and results are comparable to those obtained by the highly sophisticated HPLC method. Immediate feedback regarding beta-carotene deficiency facilitates rapid and appropriate optimization of beta-carotene supplementation in feed.},
  language  = {en}
}