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Plasma Carotenoid Levels in Human Subjects Fed a Low Carotenoid Diet^1,2,

^* School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024 and Western Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a low carotenoid diet on plasma carotenoid levels in humans. Twelve healthy male subjects were fed a low carotenoid diet under controlled conditions for 13 wk in a live-in metabolic unit, as part of a study of vitamin C requirement. Plasma carotenoids (zeaxanthin/lutein, cryptoxanthin, lycopene, alphacarotene, beta-carotene) were measured with HPLC on study days 2–3, 14–15, 35–36 and 63–64. The rate of decline was rapid between d 2–3 and d 14–15, when the concentration of each carotenoid decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Although accurate figures for half-life are not possible without more frequent sampling points, mean plasma depletion half-life seemed to be <12 d for betacarotene, alpha-carotene and cryptoxanthin, between 12 and 33 d for lycopene and between 33 and 61 d for zeaxanthin/lutein. Because the decline was not linear over the study period, these data suggest the possibility of at least two body pools of these compounds, with one pool having a more rapid turnover rate. Because there is a significant decline in plasma carotenoid levels within the first 2 wk of a low carotenoid diet, determination of levels of these compounds may be useful only in the assessment of short-term intake.

KEY WORDS: • carotenoids • beta-carotene • humans • depletion diet • biological marker

¹ Supported in part by National Institutes of Health grant CA42710.

² Presented in part at the 75th Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, April 1991, Atlanta, GA [Rock, C. L., Swendseid, M. E., Jacob, R. A. & McKee, R. W. (1991) Effect of low-carotenoid diet on plasma carotenoid levels in human subjects. FASEB J. 5: A1074].

³ Current address: Program in Human Nutrition, School of Public Health, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029.

Manuscript received 11 March 1991. Revision accepted 18 June 1991.

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