Abstract
We studied the correlation between dietary carotenoid intake and the serum concentrations of six carotenoids in nine healthy young women and eight carotenodermic subjects. Carotenoid intake was estimated from food diaries for seven days, and serum carotenoids were analyzed concurrently every two months for one year. The total serum carotenoid concentrations were measured spectrophotometrically, and the carotenoids were analyzed in five fractions (β-carotene, α-carotene, zeaxanthin/lutein and lycopene) by HPLC. The total serum carotenoid concentrations were higher in the eight carotenodermics than in the normal subjects, and the serum concentrations of predominant carotenoids in each person were relatively constant in each individual for a year. Among these eight subjects, four consumed a lot of foods containing carotenoids, but the other four did not. In both groups, the large relative amounts of certain carotenoids obtained from some carotenoid-containing foods reflected the high concentrations of similar carotenoids in serum.
