DSM Nutritional Products Publishes New Positive Findings About Beta-Carotene
For vitamin A production, β-carotene must be cleaved into the real vitamin. For the first time, researchers established a genetically modified mouse by knocking out the gene responsible for the pro-vitamin A cleaving enzyme.
19/11/07 According to a study just published in the renowned Journal of Biological Chemistry (J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 46, 33553-33561, November 16, 2007), an increased consumption of β-carotene-rich feed may contribute to decreasing the risk of chronic diseases. A research collaboration team from DSM Nutritional Products and the Albert- Ludwigs-University of Freiburg (Germany) publish novel findings about β-carotene functions. This micronutrient is a major dietary precursor (pro-vitamin) of vitamin A, which is essential for gene regulation and vision.
For vitamin A production, β-carotene must be cleaved into the real vitamin. For the first time, researchers established a genetically modified mouse by knocking out the gene responsible for the pro-vitamin A cleaving enzyme. As expected, mice lacking the pro-vitamin-cleaving enzyme became vitamin A-deficient and accumulated β-carotene in several tissues. More surprisingly, these mice also showed characteristic changes in blood lipid levels and developed fatty liver. Feeding preformed vitamin A prevented vitamin A-deficiency in these mice, but not the disturbances in lipid metabolism. Furthermore, even when vitamin A was available with the diet, the genetically modified mice were more susceptible to obesity.
These findings may have some significant public health implications. Carotenoids such as β- carotene are not only important for well known vitamin A-dependent processes such as vision, but may also be beneficial for additional health aspects. Disturbances in lipid metabolism, as found in this mouse mutant, are causally linked to cardiovascular and liver disease. Such secondary disorders are prevalent in the increasing number of obese patients worldwide. The results of this new study imply that vitamin A cannot substitute for all physiological functions of the pro-vitamin. This finding positions β-carotene in close relation to other essential food ingredients, i.e., vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Considering the additional health effects of β-carotene described in this study, an increased consumption of β-carotene-rich food may contribute to lower the burden of chronic diseases encountered in both industrialized and developing countries.
On November 12th another study published in Archives of Internal Medicine (Vol 167(20):2184-2190) showed that long-term β-carotene supplementation may provide cognitive benefits in Men. Both findings further support the importance of β-carotene for human nutrition and health.
