BACKGROUND: Vitamin A which is found in different tissuesand organs plays a particular role in detecting clinical signs invarious deficiency conditions. However, sometimes the marginaldeficiency is present in a way that clinical signs are not visible butperformance defects, such as infertility is seen. OBJECTIVES: Inthis study, the normal baseline levels of vitamin Aand β-carotene inclinically ...

β-Carotene is the precursor of vitamin A, and also exhibits multiple pharmaceutical functions by itself. In comparison to chemical synthesis, the production of β-carotene in microbes by metabolic engineering strategy is relatively inexpensive. Identifying genes enhancing β-carotene production in microbes is important for engineering a strain of producing higher yields of β-carotene. Most of pre...

The effects of six different polyglycerol esters of fatty acids (PGEs) as nonionic emulsi fiers on the physicochemical properties and stability of β-carotene nanoparticles in oil-in-water dispersions prepared by solvent displacement technique were investigated. The β-carotene particle size was measured by a laser diffraction technique, and the stability and retention of β-carotene during storag...

BACKGROUND Golden Rice (GR) has been genetically engineered to be rich in β-carotene for use as a source of vitamin A. OBJECTIVE The objective was to compare the vitamin A value of β-carotene in GR and in spinach with that of pure β-carotene in oil when consumed by children. DESIGN Children (n = 68; age 6-8 y) were randomly assigned to consume GR or spinach (both grown in a nutrient solutio...

BACKGROUND Over the last decade, considerable efforts have been made to identify cassava cultivars to improve the vitamin A nutritional status of undernourished populations, especially in northeast Brazil, where cassava is one of the principal and essentially only nutritional source. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the total carotenoid, β-carotene, and its all-E-, 9-, and 13-...

Vitamin A regulates many essential mammalian biological processes, including embryonic development. β-carotene is the main source of vitamin A in the human diet. Once ingested, it is packaged into lipoproteins, predominantly low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and transported to different sites within the body, including the liver and developing tissues, where it can either be stored or metabolized...

Vitamin A is essential for life in all vertebrate animals. Vitamin A requirement can be met from dietary preformed vitamin A or provitamin A carotenoids, the most important of which is β-carotene. The metabolism of β-carotene, including its intestinal absorption, accumulation in tissues, and conversion to vitamin A, varies widely across animal species and determines the role that β-carotene pla...

African leafy vegetables (ALVs) are known to be high in β-carotene content and are preferred over kales due to this nutritional superiority. Ten different vegetables were collected from farm and market locations and analyzed for β-carotene content. Cooked vegetables (in single or in combination) as well as solar dried samples were prepared by the community members in the study area in the usual...

A new HPLC/DAD (Diode Array Detector) method is proposed for the identification of some carotene isomers. The operating conditions adopted permit the resolution of α-carotene, all-trans-β-carotene, 9-cis-β-carotene, 13-cis-β-carotene and 15-cis-β-carotene. Moreover, the chromatographic conditions reported are simplified in respect of those reported up to now. The method is applied to the determ...

β-carotene is a commonly used food colorant. In this work, a novel β-carotene producing strain, Serratia marcescens RB3, was isolated and identified by physiological and biochemical tests, as well as 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The production of β-carotene by S. marcescens RB3 was identified through HPLC analysis. The cultivation conditions for β-carotene production by S. marcescens RB3 were op...