Carotenoids in young and elderly healthy humans: dietary intakes, biochemical status and diet-plasma relationships

Abstract

Objective: To determine dietary carotenoid concentrations using an established and newly developed food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) method, to determine plasma carotenoid concentrations and to determine the relationship between these dietary and plasma variables in 24 ± 45 y and 65 y groups. Design: Descriptive assessment of (FFQ), 7 ± d estimated records, and plasma carotenoids and their relationships in 24 ± 45 y and 65 y groups. Setting: Free living urban adults in Ireland. Subjects: Sixty-four volunteers aged 24 ± 45 y and 54 volunteers aged 65 y. Results: b-carotene was the predominant plasma carotenoid, but older groups had lower plasma concentrations of several carotenoids compared to younger groups (P`0.005). b-carotene and lycopene were the major dietary carotenoids reported by estimated records and FFQ. Several estimated record and plasma carotenoid concentrations were positively associated in younger groups but not in older groups. FFQ overestimated dietary carotenoids relative to estimated records (P 0.05), generally did not re¯ect estimated record carotenoid concentrations and showed positive associations with plasma carotenoids only in older men. Neither of the dietary methods revealed a positive association between plasma and dietary b-carotene concentrations, whereas b-cryptoxanthin was strongly associated. Conclusions: Dietary and plasma concentrations of individual carotenoids are documented in young and elderly groups of a European country. Estimated record data reveals positive associations between diet and plasma carotenoids in younger, but not elderly groups. Further work examining diet-plasma relationship in older groups and developing a common FFQ suitable for use in several European countries is required. Sponsorship: Commission of the European Communities: AAIR Project (AIR2-CT93-0888).

The total antioxidant capacity of the diet is an independent predictor of plasma β-carotene

“…In fact, intake of the antioxidant vitamins C and E is strongly and positively related to plasma b-carotene. This is consistent with previous investigations (Carroll et al, 1999;El-Sohemy et al, 2002) and may reflect either a sharing of dietary sources (primarily vitamin C), a 'protection' of plasma b-carotene by antioxidant vitamins, or both. A similar reasoning may apply to the positive correlation observed between intake of fruits, vegetables-pulses, and fiber and plasma b-carotene.…”

“…Adjusted geometric means (95% confidence interval) of b-carotene across quartiles of energyadjusted dietary TAC were calculated using the general linear model (GLM) procedure in SPSS (version 12.0; SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). Covariates for GLMs adjustment were selected from clinical and dietary variables related to plasma concentrations of b-carotene in previous publications as well as in our sample, namely age, gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking, hypertension, HOMA-IR, plasma concentrations of HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, GGT, Creactive protein (CRP) and intake of fiber, alcohol, fat, vitamin C, vitamin E, b-carotene, fruits and vegetables Dietary TAC and plasma b-carotene S Valtueña et al (Carroll et al, 1999;Facchini et al, 2000;Kritchevsky et al, 2000;Ford et al, 2003;Brevik et al, 2004;Coyne et al, 2005). Independent predictors of plasma b-carotene were identified by stepwise multiple regression analysis.…”

Low-dose supplementation with lycopene or β-carotene does not enhance cell-mediated immunity in healthy free-living elderly humans

“…Plasma carotenoids tended to be lower in the elderly group in the present study than in a younger group of volunteers, drawn from the same population (Carroll et al, 1999). However, the elderly volunteers in this population had nutrient intakes comparable to those reported in the group of younger volunteers (detailed in Table 5; Carroll et al, 1999).…”

Association between oxidative stress and nutritional status in the elderly

“…87 On the other hand, a positive correlation was not verified between the ingestion of foods that are a source of β-carotene and plasmatic levels of this antioxidant in elderly residents of a community in Ireland. 88 Furthermore, it should be reiterated that the absorption of certain nutrients (for example, vitamin B 12 , calcium, iron and β-carotene) can be harmed by the occurrence of atrophic gastritis (condition in which stomach acidity is reduced). 89,90 The absorption of the nutrients above is dependent on an acidic pH.…”