The Amazon region has many sources of fruits, especially native ones not yet explored, but which have some potential for use, as is the case with certain palms. The objective of this study was to evaluate the content of bioactive compounds and total antioxidant capacities of fruits from native palms from the Brazilian Amazon. The fruits of five palm species (bacaba, buriti, inajá, pupunha, and ...

PALAVRAS-CHAVE Manihot esculenta Crantz Cianeto Carotenoides Proteína ABSTRACT: Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a plant from the Brazilian Amazonia which presents wide genetic variability. Since it is one of the most consumed foods in the world, efforts to generate more nutritive cultivars are necessary. The objective of the present study was to characterize twenty genotypes of cassava fr...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate how serum retinol and carotenoids (β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin, lycopene) are associated with biomarkers of insulin resistance. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES The BioCycle Study (2005-2007) is a prospective cohort of 259 healthy premenopausal women. Fasting serum samples were collected at up to sixteen clinic visits, from ...

In the context of sexual and natural selection, an allocation trade-off for carotenoid pigments may exist because of their obligate dietary origin and their role both in the antioxidant and immune systems and in the production of coloured signals in various taxa, particularly birds. When birds have expended large amounts of carotenoids to feather growth such as after autumn moult, bird health a...

Carotenoids have a dietary origin in birds, but mechanisms by which they are absorbed in the gut, transported in the blood, metabolized at various sites, and deposited in the integument remain poorly understood. Variation in both plasma carotenoid levels and external color may reflect different access to dietary carotenoids or individual physiological differences in the uptake and deposition of...

BACKGROUND The aim was to study whether the association between educational attainment and antioxidant status is mediated by smoking and fruit and vegetable intake. METHODS Cross-sectional analyses of the Oslo Youth Study 2006 wave were carried out. Information about education, smoking habits and diet was collected by questionnaire for 261 subjects (142 women and 119 men aged 38-42 years). Bl...

IMPORTANCE Despite strong biological plausibility, evidence from epidemiologic studies and clinical trials on the relations between intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has been inconsistent. The roles of other carotenoids are less thoroughly investigated. OBJECTIVE To investigate the associations between intakes of carotenoids and AMD. DESIGN, SETTING...

Various carotenoids with diverse structures are present in foods and have been reported to have beneficial effects on human health. Owing to their hydrophobicity, however, poor solubilization in the aqueous milieu of the digestive tract restricts their intestinal absorption. Fats and oils were found to increase the solubilization of carotenoids into mixed-micelles, which would therefore enhance...

Various natural carotenoids seem to be valuable for cancer prevention, and these carotenoids may be more suitable in combinational use, rather than in single use. In fact, we have proven that combinational use of natural carotenoids resulted in significant suppression of liver cancer. Patients of viral hepatitis with cirrhosis were administered with beta-cryptoxanthin-enriched Mandarin orange j...