368 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS (2) Tolberg, R. S., and Pitts, Jr., J. N., y. Am. Chem. Soc., 80, 1304 (1958). (3) Ausloos, P., Ibid., 80, 1310 (1958). (4) Egerton, G. S., 5 e. Soc. Dyers Colorists, 65, 5•85, 788 (1949). (5) Van Allan, Tinker, 5 e. Org. Chem., 1243, 19 (1949). (6) Marks, A. R., Glass Packer, October (1956). (7) Hardy, W. B., and Coleman, R. A., Proceedings of the Perkin Centennial AATCC, September (1956). (8) Gantz, G. M., and Sumner, W. G., Textile Research St., 27, 244 (1957). (9) Klarmann, E.G., Drug & Cosmetic Ind., 81, 299, 454 (1957). (10) Knox, J. M., Guin, J., and Cockerell, E.G., )q Invest. Dermatol., 29, 435-444 (1957). PERCUTANEOUS ABSORPTION OF VITAMIN A By ALBERT E. SOBEL* Presented 5tune 4, _1958, New York City To EXPLAIN the large doses of vitamin A required in many skin conditions, it was postulated that faulty transportation is a cause of defi- ciency of the vitamin in a given tissue only (1), in this case the skin. That transportation is not simply a function of the total amount of "A," but of the vitamin A concentration of the blood was indicated in studies relating the transfer of vitamin A from mother's blood to her milk (1, 2). The present studies were undertaken to establish whether external application to the skin can be a means of vitamin A transfer, thus extending our knowledge of transportation of vitamin A and possibly providing a method of administration of the vitamin for pathological skin conditions. In this we were stimulated by the finding that high doses of vitamin A given orally for the management of dermatological disorders, can cause severe vitamin A poisoning (3, 4). TABLE 1--ToPICAL APPLICATION OF VITAMIN A IN VARIOUS MEDIA Duration of study--28 days "A" Age at No. of Applied, Sacrifice, Body Gain,* Media Animals •g./Day Days wt., g. g. "A" Stores Liver and Serum Kidney, "A," •g./Total •g. % D-lotion t 4 5 85 142 28 0.9 46 D-ointment 2 10 87 149 20 0.1 6 Tween-H20:• 4 10 89 164 41 0.9 3 Cottonseed oil 4 10 89 173 47 2.9 30 D-ointment-fortified 4 250 85 158 62 21.9 42 Oral cottonseed oil 5 1 88 185 62 6.9 27 * Gain in body weight from time of depletion of vitamin A. t Same bottle of lotion used throughout study. :l: Solution of 47% Tween 20, 47% H20 and 6% cottonseed oil. * Department of Biochemistry, The Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn, N.Y.

368 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS (2) Tolberg, R. S., and Pitts, Jr., J. N., y. Am. Chem. Soc., 80, 1304 (1958). (3) Ausloos, P., Ibid., 80, 1310 (1958). (4) Egerton, G. S., 5 e. Soc. Dyers Colorists, 65, 5•85, 788 (1949). (5) Van Allan, Tinker, 5 e. Org. Chem., 1243, 19 (1949). (6) Marks, A. R., Glass Packer, October (1956). (7) Hardy, W. B., and Coleman, R. A., Proceedings of the Perkin Centennial AATCC, September (1956). (8) Gantz, G. M., and Sumner, W. G., Textile Research St., 27, 244 (1957). (9) Klarmann, E.G., Drug & Cosmetic Ind., 81, 299, 454 (1957). (10) Knox, J. M., Guin, J., and Cockerell, E.G., )q Invest. Dermatol., 29, 435-444 (1957). PERCUTANEOUS ABSORPTION OF VITAMIN A By ALBERT E. SOBEL* Presented 5tune 4, _1958, New York City To EXPLAIN the large doses of vitamin A required in many skin conditions, it was postulated that faulty transportation is a cause of defi- ciency of the vitamin in a given tissue only (1), in this case the skin. That transportation is not simply a function of the total amount of "A," but of the vitamin A concentration of the blood was indicated in studies relating the transfer of vitamin A from mother's blood to her milk (1, 2). The present studies were undertaken to establish whether external application to the skin can be a means of vitamin A transfer, thus extending our knowledge of transportation of vitamin A and possibly providing a method of administration of the vitamin for pathological skin conditions. In this we were stimulated by the finding that high doses of vitamin A given orally for the management of dermatological disorders, can cause severe vitamin A poisoning (3, 4). TABLE 1--ToPICAL APPLICATION OF VITAMIN A IN VARIOUS MEDIA Duration of study--28 days "A" Age at No. of Applied, Sacrifice, Body Gain,* Media Animals •g./Day Days wt., g. g. "A" Stores Liver and Serum Kidney, "A," •g./Total •g. % D-lotion t 4 5 85 142 28 0.9 46 D-ointment 2 10 87 149 20 0.1 6 Tween-H20:• 4 10 89 164 41 0.9 3 Cottonseed oil 4 10 89 173 47 2.9 30 D-ointment-fortified 4 250 85 158 62 21.9 42 Oral cottonseed oil 5 1 88 185 62 6.9 27 * Gain in body weight from time of depletion of vitamin A. t Same bottle of lotion used throughout study. :l: Solution of 47% Tween 20, 47% H20 and 6% cottonseed oil. * Department of Biochemistry, The Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn, N.Y.