Natural Carotenoids

E. Other benefits

• 1. Relation of vitamin A and carotenoid status to growth failure and mortality among Ugandan infants with human immunodeficiency virus.

  Melikian, G. et al. (2001). Relation of vitamin A and carotenoid status to growth failure and mortality among Ugandan infants with human immunodeficiency virus. Nutrition. 17(7-8):567-72.

  Although growth failure is common during pediatric infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and associated with increased mortality, the relation of specific nutrition factors with growth and mortality has not been well characterized. A longitudinal study was conducted with 194 HIV-infected infants in Kampala, Uganda. Plasma vitamin A, carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and lutein/zeaxanthin), and vitamin E were measured at age 14 wk, and weight and height were followed up to age 12 mo. Vitamin A and low plasma carotenoid concentrations were predictive of decreased weight and height velocity. Between ages 14 wk and 12 mo, 32% of infants died. Underweight, stunting, and low concentrations of plasma carotenoids were associated with increased risk of death in univariate analyses. Plasma vitamin A concentrations were not associated with risk of death. In a final multivariate model adjusting for weight-for-age, plasma beta-carotene was significantly associated with increased mortality (odds ratio: 3.16, 95% confidence interval: 1.38 to 7.21, P < 0.006). These data suggest that low concentrations of plasma carotenoids are associated with increased risk of death during HIV infection among infants in Uganda.

• 2. Comparison of the bioavailability of natural palm oil carotene and synthetic beta- carotene in humans

  Westrate, J.A. et al. (1999). Comparison of the bioavailability of natural palm oil carotene and synthetic beta- carotene in humans. J. Agri. Food Chemistry. 47(4):1582-6.

  Palm oil carotenoids are a mixture of alpha- and beta-carotenes, which are used as food colorants. They may also be applied as a functional food ingredient because of the provitamin A activity of alpha- and beta-carotenes and their proposed beneficial roles in the prevention of chronic diseases. This paper discusses the results of an incomplete balanced crossover study with 69 healthy adult volunteers to compare palm oil carotenoids with synthetic beta-carotene in their efficacies to increase plasma levels of carotenoids. Four days of supplementation with natural palm oil carotenoids (7.6 mg/day of alpha-carotene, 11.9 mg/day of all-trans-beta-carotene, 7.5 mg/day of cis-beta-carotene) or synthetic beta-carotene (23.8 mg/day of all-trans-beta-carotene, 4.4 mg/day of cis-beta-carotene), added to a mixed meal, resulted in significant increases in plasma levels of the supplied carotenoids as compared to consumption of a low-carotenoid meal (i.e., 7.2-fold increase in alpha-carotene and 3.5-fold increase in all-trans-beta-carotene following palm oil carotenoids; 6.9-fold increase in all-trans beta-carotene following synthetic beta-carotene). As the carotenoid content differed between the treatments, the relative plasma responses were calculated per milligram of beta-carotene intake. These were similar for the two supplements, suggesting that the presence of alpha-carotene does not affect the bioavailability of beta-carotene from palm oil. It was concluded that 4 days of supplementation with palm oil carotenoids or synthetic beta-carotene improves the plasma beta-carotene status substantially, whereas alpha-carotene is additionally delivered by the palm oil supplement.

• 3. Carotenoids : More than just beta-carotene

  Gellenbeck, K. W. (1998). Carotenoids : More than just beta-carotene. Asis Pacific J. Clin. Nutr. 7(3/4): 277-281.

  Fruits and vegetables of the human diet contain many of the over 600 carotenoid pigments that have been identified in plants. Led by work with beta-carotene, researchers have constantly been learning more about the metabolism of these compounds in the human body. Research work is now expanding beyond beta-carotene in an effort to understand what happens to all the pigments found in the human diet. This discussion briefly looks at research result on the carotenoids found in human serum as well as the effects of supplementation. Recent confusing result from large intervention trials with beta-carotene and lung cancer incidence are emphasized in relation to supplementation doses and beta-carotene source (synthetic vs. natural). The summation of results emphasizes the importance of the broad spectrum of carotenoids in the diet and relates to supplementation product currently being designed for the marketplace.

• 4. Long term intake of vitamins and carotenoids and odds of early age-related cortical and posterior subcapsular lens opacities

  Taylor, A. et al.(2002).Long term intake of vitamins and carotenoids and odds of early age-related cortical and posterior subcapsular lens opacities. Am J Clin Nutr. 75(3):540-9.

  Proper nutrition appears to protect against cataracts. Few studies have related nutrition to the odds of developing cortical or posterior subcapsular (PSC) cataracts. The studied 492 nondiabetic women aged 53-73 y from the Nurses' Health Study cohort who were without previously diagnosed cataracts. Usual nutrient intake was calculated as the average intake from 5 food-frequency questionnaires collected over a 13-15-y period before the eye examination. Duration of vitamin supplement use was determined from 7 questionnaires collected during this same period. We defined cortical opacities as grade > or = 0.5 and subcapsular opacities as grade > or =0.3 of the Lens Opacities Classification System III. Some lenses had more than one opacity. No nutrient measure was related to prevalence of opacities in the full sample, but significant interactions were seen between age and vitamin C intake (P = 0.02) for odds of cortical opacities and between smoking status and folate (P = 0.02), alpha-carotene (P = 0.02), beta-carotene (P = 0.005), and total carotenoids (P = 0.02) for odds of PSC opacities. For women aged <60 y, a vitamin C intake > or = 362 mg/d was associated with a 57% lower odds ratio (0.43; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.93) of developing a cortical cataract than was an intake <140 mg/d, and use of vitamin C supplements for > or = 10 y was associated with a 60% lower odds ratio (0.40; 0.18, 0.87) than was no vitamin C supplement use. Prevalence of PSC opacities was related to total carotenoid intake in women who never smoked (P = 0.02). The results support a role for vitamin C in diminishing the risk of cortical cataracts in women aged <60 y and for carotenoids in diminishing the risk of PSC cataracts in women who have never smoked.

• 5. Intakes of vitamin C and carotenoids and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Pooled results from 5 cohort studies

  Ascherio, A. et al. (2013). Intakes of vitamin C and carotenoids and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Pooled results from 5 cohort studies. Annals of Neurology.

  Prior research has suggested the possible role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Prospective data examining dietary antioxidants such carotenoids and vitamin C are limited. Risk of ALS associated with carotenoid and vitamin C intake was investigated in 5 prospective cohorts: the National Institutes of Health–Association of American Retired Persons Diet and Health Study, the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, the Multiethnic Cohort, the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), and the Nurses Health Study (NHS). ALS deaths were documented using the National Death Index, and confirmed nonfatal ALS cases were included from HPFS and NHS. A total of 1,153 ALS deaths occurred among 1,100,910 participants (562,942 men; 537,968 women). Participants were categorized into cohort-specific quintiles of intake for dietary variables. We applied Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate cohort-specific risk ratios (RRs), and pooled results using random-effects methods. A greater total major carotenoids intake was associated with a reduced risk of ALS (pooled, multivariate-adjusted RR for the highest to the lowest quintile = 0.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.61–0.91, p for trend = 0.004). Individually, higher dietary intakes of β-carotene and lutein were inversely associated with ALS risk. The pooled multivariate RRs comparing the highest to the lowest quintile for β-carotene and lutein were 0.85 (95% CI = 0.64–1.13, p for trend = 0.03) and 0.79 (95% CI = 0.64–0.96, p for trend = 0.01), respectively. Lycopene, β-cryptoxanthin, and vitamin C were not associated with reduced risk of ALS. Consumption of foods high in carotenoids may help prevent or delay onset of ALS