Bioavailability of -Carotene Is Lower in Raw than in Processed Carrots and Spinach in Women^1,2,3

Manuscript received 16 October 1997. Initial reviews completed 17 December 1997. Revision accepted 24 January 1998.

Cheryl L. Rock^*, , Jennifer L. Lovalvo, Curt Emenhiser^**, Mack T. Ruffin, Shirley W. Flatt^*, and Steven J. Schwartz

^* Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0901;  Department of Family Practice, and School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0708; ^** Research Division, Gerber Products Company, Fremont, MI 494l3-0001; and  Department of Food Science and Technology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210-1096

Populations at risk of vitamin A deficiency usually rely on dietary provitamin A carotenoids to meet vitamin A needs, yet bioavailability of these compounds is influenced by several factors as follows: location in the plant source, the presence of other influencing dietary components, and type and extent of processing. The purpose of this study was to examine the plasma -carotene response to raw vs. processed carrots and spinach. Subjects were eight healthy females aged 23-36 y who consumed ~9.3 mg -carotene daily from either raw or thermally processed and pureed vegetables in two 4-wk treatment periods in a crossover study. Plasma concentrations of total, all-trans-, and cis--carotene and -carotene were measured at base line and the end of each treatment period by using HPLC assays. Total and all-trans (but not cis) plasma -carotene concentrations were significantly greater than base-line concentrations in the processed feeding period (P < 0.04) and tended to be greater in the raw feeding period (P = 0.08). Daily consumption of processed carrots and spinach over a 4-wk period produced an increase in plasma -carotene concentration that averaged three times that associated with consumption of the same amount of -carotene from these vegetables in the raw form (P = 0.09). Increased cis isomers provided in the processed vegetables did not result in significantly greater plasma cis--carotene isomer concentrations. These results suggest that isomerization of -carotene by heat treatment does not negate the enhanced -carotene uptake associated with consuming commercially processed vegetables compared with raw vegetables.

The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 128 No. 5 May 1998, pp. 913-916
Copyright ©1998 by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences

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