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Golden Rice is an effective source of vitamin A^1,2,3,4

¹ From the Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA (GT, JQ, GGD, and RMR), and the US Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX (MAG).

² Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the US Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government.

³ This material is based upon work supported by the US Department of Agriculture, under Cooperative Agreements 581950-9-001, 58-6250-6-001, and 581950-7-707, by a grant from NIH NIDDK DK620021, and USAID.

⁴ Reprints not available. Address correspondence to G Tang, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA. E-mail: guangwen.tang{at}tufts.edu.

ABSTRACT

Background: Genetically engineered "Golden Rice" contains up to 35 µg β-carotene per gram of rice. It is important to determine the vitamin A equivalency of Golden Rice β-carotene to project the potential effect of this biofortified grain in rice-consuming populations that commonly exhibit low vitamin A status.

Objective: The objective was to determine the vitamin A value of intrinsically labeled dietary Golden Rice in humans.

Design: Golden Rice plants were grown hydroponically with heavy water (deuterium oxide) to generate deuterium-labeled [²H]β-carotene in the rice grains. Golden Rice servings of 65–98 g (130–200 g cooked rice) containing 0.99–1.53 mg β-carotene were fed to 5 healthy adult volunteers (3 women and 2 men) with 10 g butter. A reference dose of [¹³C₁₀]retinyl acetate (0.4–1.0 mg) in oil was given to each volunteer 1 wk before ingestion of the Golden Rice dose. Blood samples were collected over 36 d.

Results: Our results showed that the mean (±SD) area under the curve for the total serum response to [²H]retinol was 39.9 ± 20.7 µg·d after the Golden Rice dose. Compared with that of the [¹³C₁₀]retinyl acetate reference dose (84.7 ± 34.6 µg·d), Golden Rice β-carotene provided 0.24–0.94 mg retinol. Thus, the conversion factor of Golden Rice β-carotene to retinol is 3.8 ± 1.7 to 1 with a range of 1.9–6.4 to 1 by weight, or 2.0 ± 0.9 to 1 with a range of 1.0–3.4 to by moles.

Conclusions: β-Carotene derived from Golden Rice is effectively converted to vitamin A in humans. This trial was registered at clinicaltrial.gov as NCT00680355.

Received for publication October 16, 2008. Accepted for publication March 17, 2009.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Tang, R. M Russell, J. Qin, G. G Dolnikowski, and M. A Grusak Reply to MB Krawinkel Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 696 - 697. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. B Krawinkel {beta}-Carotene from rice for human nutrition? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 695 - 696. [Full Text] [PDF]