All-trans -Carotene Is Absorbed Preferentially to 9-cis -carotene, but the Latter Accumulates in the Tissues of Domestic Ferrets (Mustela putorius puro)

Manuscript received 1 May 1998. Initial reviews completed 1 June 1998. Revision accepted 29 June 1998.

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 and ^* Department of Food Engineering and Biotechnology, Technion, Haifa, Israel

The algae Dunaliella bardawil and Dunaliella salina naturally contain large concentrations of all-trans and 9-cis -carotene (C). The purpose of this study was to compare the relative serum and tissue accumulation of all-trans and 9-cis C in ferrets fed different ratios of all-trans/9-cis C derived from two commercial sources, D. bardawil or D. salina (Betatene). Male ferrets (7 wk old) were fed carotene-free, pelleted diets for 27 d. Beginning on d 18, groups of ferrets (n = 6 or 7) received daily, one of six oral supplements varying in ratios of 9-cis and all-trans C mixed with ~1.0mL of Ensure. Four supplements containing 5.2-8.3 µmol total C were prepared from a 20% Betatene preparation, D. bardawil, a high-cis Betatene preparation, and Betatene further enriched in 9-cis C with all-trans C/9-cis C ratios of 2.2, 1.5, 0.6 and 0.4, respectively. Two control supplements, high and low C, were prepared from commercial C beadlets. The high control supplement had an all-trans/9-cis ratio of 19.0, whereas 9-cis C was not detected in the low supplement. On d 27, serum and tissues were obtained for HPLC analysis of C and its isomers. Analysis of livers showed that all-trans C was the primary isomer present, but 9-cis and other isomers were also detected in all groups. The hepatic all-trans/9-cis ratios were 5.9, 4.9, 2.5, 1.4, 52.2 and 47.5, respectively, for the groups listed above. Lower amounts of all-trans and 9-cis C were found in kidneys compared with the liver, but ratios of all-trans/9-cis were not different among groups. Only trace amounts of 9-cis C were found in serum. These results demonstrate that the algae D. bardawil and D. salina provide a bioavailable source of C isomers, but, as in humans, absorption of 9-cis C is poor and any 9-cis C absorbed is apparently cleared by the liver.

The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 128 No. 11 November 1998, pp. 2009-2013
Copyright ©1998 by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences

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