Effects of a carotene-deficient diet on measures of oxidative susceptibility and superoxide dismutase activity in adult women

• Published in: Free radical biology & medicine Vol. 17; no. 6; p. 537
• Main Authors: Dixon, Z R, Burri, B J, Clifford, A, Frankel, E N, Schneeman, B O, Parks, E, Keim, N L, Barbieri, T, Wu, M M, Fong, A K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-12-1994
• Subjects: Adult; Aldehydes - blood; Carotenoids - administration & dosage; Carotenoids - blood; Carotenoids - deficiency; Diet; Erythrocytes - enzymology; Female; Humans; Pentanes - blood; Superoxide Dismutase - blood; Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances - analysis; Vitamin A - blood
• ISSN: 0891-5849
• DOI: 10.1016/0891-5849(94)90093-0

The effect of consuming a low carotene diet (approximately 60 micrograms carotene/day) on oxidative susceptibility and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in women living in a metabolic research unit was evaluated. The diet had sufficient vitamins A, E, and C. The women ate the diet supplemented with 1500 micrograms/day beta-carotene for 4 days (baseline), then the unsupplemented diet for 68 days (depletion), followed by the diet supplemented with > 15,000 micrograms/day carotene for 28 days (repletion). Production of hexanal, pentanal, and pentane by copper-oxidized plasma low density lipoproteins from carotene-depleted women was greater than their production of these compounds when repleted with carotene. Erythrocyte SOD activity was depressed in carotene-depleted women; it recovered with repletion. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in plasma of carotene-depleted women were elevated and diminished with repletion. Dietary carotene seems to be needed, not only as a precursor of vitamin A, but also to inhibit oxidative damage and decrease oxidation susceptibility.