American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 53, 688-694, Copyright © 1991 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Beta-carotene's effects on serum lipoproteins and immunologic indices in humans

TV Ringer, MJ DeLoof, GE Winterrowd, SF Francom, SK Gaylor, JA Ryan, ME Sanders and GS Hughes
Upjohn Research Clinics, Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, MI 49007.

Doses of beta-carotene for cancer-prevention trials have been chosen based on epidemiologic data. Mechanisms of the putative antineoplastic effects by beta-carotene are unknown but may involve modulation of the immune system. We measured plasma carotenoid concentrations and selected immunologic indices at baseline and at 2 and 4 wk in 50 healthy humans (5 groups of 10 each) ingesting 0, 15, 45, 180, or 300 mg beta-carotene/d for 1 mo in this randomized placebo-controlled, open- label, parallel study. Plasma beta-carotene concentrations were markedly increased by 2 wk and were correlated with dose. Beta-carotene concentrations plateaued between 2 and 4 wk except for the 300-mg group. Thus, we developed a dose-concentration curve to optimize beta- carotene-dose selection to achieve target plasma concentrations. We were unable to identify any effects of beta-carotene ingestion on the immunologic indices studied, but modest increases in high-density- lipoprotein cholesterol were observed in all beta-carotene-treated groups.

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