Lycopene and ß-carotene are bioavailable from lycopene ‘red’ carrots in humans.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Horvitz, M. A.; Simon, P. W.; Tanumihardjo, S. A.
- Source
- European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. May2004, Vol. 58 Issue 5, p803-811. 9p.
- Subject
- *LYCOPENE
*CAROTENES
*BIOAVAILABILITY
*CAROTENOIDS
*DIET therapy
*NUTRITION
- Language
- ISSN
- 0954-3007
The purpose of this study was to determine if lycopene and β-carotene are bioavailable from lycopene red carrots and if lycopene absorption is affected by carrot fiber. Two crossover studies in humans attempted to compare the relative bioavailability of lycopene and β-carotene from tomato paste to a genetically selected lycopene red carrot during chronic feeding. Each study contained three treatment groups. The vehicle of administration was muffins. Statistical analysis indicated a significant effect of muffin type in study 1 (P<0.001), and a significant treatment by sequence interaction in study 2 (P=0.04). The response to increasing amounts of lycopene is linear at the levels fed in these studies (r=0.94). The data suggest that maintenance of serum lycopene concentrations at 0.3 μmol/l occurs at about 2 mg/day of lycopene from mixed dietary sources and a serum plateau occurs at Z20 mg/day. These results show that lycopene and β-carotene are bioavailable from red carrots and lycopene absorption seems to be affected by carrot fiber. Making inferences from both studies, the lycopene in the red carrot is about 44% as bioavailable as that from tomato paste. Red carrots provide an alternative to tomato paste as a good dietary source of lycopene and also provide bioavailable β-carotene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]