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The Metabolism of [¹⁴C]ß-Carotene and the Presence of Other Carotenoids in Rats and Monkeys¹

Norman I. Krinsky, Micheline M. Mathews-Roth^*,2, Sudha Welankiwar, Prabhat K. Sehgal^**, Niels C. G. Lausen and Mark Russett

Department of Biochemistry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111 ^* Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 ^** New England Regional Primate Center, Southboro, MA 01772 Department of Comparative Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115

The metabolism of ß-carotene has been studied in both rats and Rhesus monkeys, following the oral administration of [¹⁴C]ß-carotene in olive oil supplemented with 1 mg/mL -tocopherol. In the rats, peak serum accumulation of [¹⁴C]retinol occurred 4 h after a single oral dose, but we were not able to detect [¹⁴C]ß-carotene in rat sera at any time up to 72 h after dosing. Small amounts of [¹⁴C]ß-carotene were found in the livers, although 88–94% of the recovered radioactivity was localized in the retinol fraction after saponification. Although radioactivity was also found in fractions other than ß-carotene and retinol, the amounts were too small to allow characterization. In the monkeys, peak accumulation of [¹⁴C]retinol in serum occurred between 8 and 24 h after supplementation. Some [¹⁴C]ß-carotene was also present. Most of the absorbed radioactivity was stored in the liver as [¹⁴C]retinol, although 2–8% was present as [¹⁴C]ß-carotene. Other organs also contained [¹⁴C]ß-carotene, confirming the ability of the monkey to absorb intact ß-carotene. In addition, monkey livers and other organs were found to contain lutein, zeaxanthin, -cryptoxanthin, ß-cryptoxanthin and ß-carotene, presumably arising from dietary sources.

KEY WORDS: • ß-carotene • metabolism • rats • monkeys

¹ Supported by grant U01 CA39967 from the National Cancer Institute (to M.M-R.).

² To whom reprint requests should be sent: Channing Laboratory, 180 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.

Manuscript received 30 June 1989. Revision accepted 25 September 1989.

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