Interactions in the postprandial appearance of beta-carotene and canthaxanthin in plasma triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins in humans

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition 1997-11, Vol.66 (5), p.1133-1143
• Main Authors: Paetau, I, Chen, H, Goh, NM, White, WS
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Adult; beta Carotene - administration & dosage; beta Carotene - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Canthaxanthin - administration & dosage; Canthaxanthin - blood; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chylomicrons - metabolism; Drug Interactions; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Lipids; Lipoproteins - analysis; Lipoproteins - blood; Lipoproteins - metabolism; Particle Size; Postprandial Period - physiology; Premenopause - metabolism; Proteins; Triglycerides - metabolism; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Vitamin A; Women
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/66.5.1133

We investigated the plasma appearance of beta-carotene and canthaxanthin, an oxycarotenoid, in normolipidemic premenopausal women (n = 9) who ingested beta-carotene alone, canthaxanthin alone, and a combined dose. Blood samples were taken hourly for 12 h; additional blood samples were collected over 528 h. In a subset of the women (n = 5), plasma lipoproteins were separated into chylomicrons, very-low-density-lipoproteins (VLDL) subfractions, intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDLs), and low-density lipoproteins (LDLs). The appearance of beta-carotene in plasma was biphasic, with a minor peak at 5 h followed by a sustained peak at 24-48 h. The plasma appearance of canthaxanthin was monophasic, with a rapid increase to the final hourly measurement at 12 h and a steady decrease from the next measurement at 24 h. At 6 h, 23.4 +/- 2.9% of the increase in plasma canthaxanthin was associated with LDL, in contrast with 2.4 +/- 1.4% of the increase in plasma beta-carotene (P < 0.005). Ingestion of a combined dose of beta-carotene and canthaxanthin inhibited the appearance of canthaxanthin in plasma, chylomicrons, and each VLDL subfraction (P < 0.05), but did not significantly affect the rapid accumulation of canthaxanthin in LDL within 10 h. In contrast, ingestion of the combined dose did not significantly affect the appearance of beta-carotene in plasma or plasma lipoproteins. These findings suggest distinct mechanisms of incorporation into lipoproteins and specific interactions of beta-carotene and canthaxanthin during intestinal absorption in humans.