![]() |
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-4017
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: richard.m.clark{at}uconn.edu.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the plasma response to dietary cholesterol from eggs is associated with the plasma carotenoid response and whether gender influences the carotenoid response. Using a crossover design, 40 subjects classified as either hyper- (10 men and 10 women) or hyporesponders (10 men and 10 women) to dietary cholesterol consumed an egg (EGG, 640 mg/d additional dietary cholesterol and 600 µg lutein + zeaxanthin) or placebo (SUB, 0 mg/d cholesterol, 0 µg lutein + zeaxanthin and 568 µg ß-carotene) diet for 30 d, followed by a 3-wk washout period and the alternate diet. Plasma concentrations of lutein and ß-carotene after each dietary period were then examined to determine whether the response to carotenoid intake was similar to that seen for dietary cholesterol. After the EGG period, the increase in plasma lutein in female hyperresponders (mean increase ± SD; 0.32 ± 0.19 µmol/L) and male hyperresponders (0.26 ± 0.11 µmol/L) was significantly greater than that of their hyporesponsive counterparts (0.16 ± 0.18 µmol/L for women and 0.14 ± 0.11 µmol/L men). Gender was not a significant factor influencing lutein response. Both men and women classified as hyperresponders significantly increased plasma ß-carotene after the SUB period, whereas their hyporesponsive counterparts were not affected. The increase in plasma ß-carotene in female hyperresponders (0.29 ± 0.48 µmol/L) was significantly greater than that in male hyperresponders (0.07 ± 0.07 µmol/L). We conclude that plasma responses to cholesterol and carotenoids are related and that gender influences the ß-carotene response to a greater degree than the lutein response.
KEY WORDS: carotenoid lutein ß-carotene cholesterol eggs
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
D. Waters, R. M. Clark, C. M. Greene, J. H. Contois, and M. L. Fernandez Change in Plasma Lutein after Egg Consumption Is Positively Associated with Plasma Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Size but Negatively Correlated with Body Size in Postmenopausal Women J. Nutr., April 1, 2007; 137(4): 959 - 963. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
E. F. Goodrow, T. A. Wilson, S. C. Houde, R. Vishwanathan, P. A. Scollin, G. Handelman, and R. J. Nicolosi Consumption of One Egg Per Day Increases Serum Lutein and Zeaxanthin Concentrations in Older Adults without Altering Serum Lipid and Lipoprotein Cholesterol Concentrations J. Nutr., October 1, 2006; 136(10): 2519 - 2524. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. J. Wenzel, C. Gerweck, D. Barbato, R. J. Nicolosi, G. J. Handelman, and J. Curran-Celentano A 12-Wk Egg Intervention Increases Serum Zeaxanthin and Macular Pigment Optical Density in Women J. Nutr., October 1, 2006; 136(10): 2568 - 2573. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||