TY - JOUR
T1 - Intervention study with a high or low antioxidant capacity diet
T2 - Effects on circulating β-carotene
AU - Del Rio, D.
AU - Valtueña, S.
AU - Pellegrini, N.
AU - Bianchi, M. A.
AU - Ardigò, D.
AU - Franzini, L.
AU - Scazzina, F.
AU - Monti, L.
AU - Zavaroni, I.
AU - Brighenti, F.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Background and objectives: A cross-sectional observation suggests that total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the diet positively affects plasma concentrations of β-carotene independent of β-carotene intake. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of two dietary strategies, designed to be comparable in fruits, vegetables, fibre, alcohol and β-carotene intake but substantially different in their TAC, on changes in antioxidant intake and antioxidant status, and in particular in circulating β-carotene concentrations. Subjects: A randomized cross-over intervention trial involving 33 healthy participants and consisting of two 14-day dietary periods (high TAC diet, HT; low TAC diet, LT) with a 14-day washout in between was conducted. Results: Energy, macronutrient, dietary fibre, alcohol and β-carotene intake was not significantly different between LT and HT, whereas intake of other carotenoids and dietary TAC was significantly higher in the HT than in the LT (P <0.001). Circulating carotenoids (with the exception of α-carotene, which followed an inverse trend) and α-tocopherol decreased significantly during the LT and increased during the HT period. Among these, β-carotene almost doubled its concentration in plasma after the HT diet. Conclusions: The increase in circulating β-carotene along with the increase in dietary TAC suggests that plasma β-carotene could be a marker of TAC intake rather than of β-carotene intake itself. This may explain, in part, why β-carotene supplementation alone has shown no benefit in chronic disease prevention and adds to a putative beneficial role of high dietary TAC diets, which merits further investigation.
AB - Background and objectives: A cross-sectional observation suggests that total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the diet positively affects plasma concentrations of β-carotene independent of β-carotene intake. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of two dietary strategies, designed to be comparable in fruits, vegetables, fibre, alcohol and β-carotene intake but substantially different in their TAC, on changes in antioxidant intake and antioxidant status, and in particular in circulating β-carotene concentrations. Subjects: A randomized cross-over intervention trial involving 33 healthy participants and consisting of two 14-day dietary periods (high TAC diet, HT; low TAC diet, LT) with a 14-day washout in between was conducted. Results: Energy, macronutrient, dietary fibre, alcohol and β-carotene intake was not significantly different between LT and HT, whereas intake of other carotenoids and dietary TAC was significantly higher in the HT than in the LT (P <0.001). Circulating carotenoids (with the exception of α-carotene, which followed an inverse trend) and α-tocopherol decreased significantly during the LT and increased during the HT period. Among these, β-carotene almost doubled its concentration in plasma after the HT diet. Conclusions: The increase in circulating β-carotene along with the increase in dietary TAC suggests that plasma β-carotene could be a marker of TAC intake rather than of β-carotene intake itself. This may explain, in part, why β-carotene supplementation alone has shown no benefit in chronic disease prevention and adds to a putative beneficial role of high dietary TAC diets, which merits further investigation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70350011938&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=70350011938&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/ejcn.2009.46
DO - 10.1038/ejcn.2009.46
M3 - Article
C2 - 19536163
AN - SCOPUS:70350011938
VL - 63
SP - 1220
EP - 1225
JO - European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
JF - European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
SN - 0954-3007
IS - 10
ER -