Carotene isomerase mutant (crtH mutant) cells of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 can accumulate beta-carotene under light conditions. However, the mutant cells grown under a light-activated heterotrophic growth condition contained detectable levels of neither beta-carotene nor D1 protein of the photosystem (PS) II reaction center, and no oxygen-evolving activity of PSII was detected. beta-Carotene a...

Beta carotene and lycopene, the two principal colored carotenoids present in tomato fruit, were measured in mature fruit of parental, F,, F2, and backcross populations derived from an initial cross of an orange-fruited accession of the wild tomato species Lycopersicon cheesmann Riley with the cultivated tomato L esculentum Mill. Segregation patterns for fruit pigmentation and percentage beta ca...

Bovine corpus luteum tissue was sliced and incubated with beta-[15,15'-(3)H]carotene. The conversion of radioactive beta-carotene into radioactive retinal was substantiated utilizing column chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, high-speed liquid chromatography, and a derivative formation. Lowering of the incubation temperature to 20 degrees C or boiling the tissue eliminated the conversion...

Escherichia coli cells transformed with several carotenogenic genes to mediate the formation of zeta-carotene, neurosporene, lycopene, beta-carotene, and zeaxanthin were exposed to UV-B radiation. Short-term kinetics revealed that endogenous levels of neurosporene and beta-carotene protected E. coli against irradiation with UV-B. Zeaxanthin protected against only the photosensitized UV-B treatm...

Leukocytes and leukocyte membranes isolated from the blood of carotenemic (serum carotene, 4.0 mg/liter) and non-carotenemic individuals were found to contain small amounts of carotenoid pigments. The principal pigment isolated from the leukocyte membranes of carotenemic individuals was beta-carotene. Traces of beta-carotene and other carotenoids were found in the leukocytes and leukocyte membr...

Vitamin A deficiency is a health problem in Southeast Asia that can be corrected by feeding orange fruits and vegetables such as mango. Pumpkin is a traditional Korean food that is easy to store and is already believed to have health benefits. We extracted carotenoids from pumpkin by liquid-liquid extraction and by supercritical fluid extraction. We measured carotenoids by reversed-phase chroma...

The present cross-sectional study assessed the potential relationships of carotenoid intake with lipid and oxidative stress markers in middle-aged men. A total of 296 apparently healthy middle-aged men (mean age 50.5 (SD 5.0) years, BMI 25.8 (SD 3.5) kg/m(2)) were recruited to participate in the study. Dietary intake, anthropometry, blood pressure, lifestyle features, blood and urine biomarkers...

BACKGROUND Much research has been conducted relating total carotenoids--and β-carotene in particular--to risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Limited data are emerging to implicate the important role of α-carotene in the development of CVD or cancer. METHODS We assessed the direct relationship between α-carotene concentrations and risk of death among 15,318 US adults 20 years and ...

BACKGROUND Although interventional trials demonstrated that moderate-dose β-carotene supplementation increases lung cancer mortality in smokers and asbestos-exposed workers, differences in serum concentrations in absence of supplementation have not been studied in asbestos-exposed workers. METHODS A mortality analysis was performed to assess the relationship of nonsupplemented serum β-caroten...

BACKGROUND Evidence indicates that different types of fat have different effects on the postprandial plasma triacylglycerol response. Therefore, the type of fat may influence the appearance of beta-carotene in postprandial triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins, which is used as an indicator of intestinal beta-carotene absorption. OBJECTIVE We compared in female subjects the appearance of beta-car...