ABSTRACT
Introduction ............................................................................................................228 Carotenoid Bioavailability ..................................................................................... 229
Bioavailability of Dietary β-Carotene and Lycopene: Studies with Momordica cochichinensis Spreng (Redmelon™) ................................... 231 In Vitro Digestion to Assess Bioavailability of Carotenoids from Redmelon™ ...................................................................................................... 232 Antioxidant Activities of β-Carotene and Lycopene in Redmelon™ ............... 233 Human Feeding Studies .................................................................................... 236
Preliminary Study: 5 Day Feeding Trial ...................................................... 236 Multicenter, Randomized Controlled 30 Day Feeding Trial ........................ 236
Bioavailability of Carotenoids in Humans Using 14C-Labeled Tracer and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ...................................................................... 237
Bioavailability of β-Carotene in Humans Using AMS ..................................... 238 Bioavailability of Lycopene in Skin Determined by AMS ............................... 238
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 239 References .............................................................................................................. 239
Carotenoids are ubiquitous in nature. There are more than 600 known carotenoids, and they are recognized by colors such as green in leaves and algae, orange in carrots, and red in hibiscus. Carotenoid pigments are also widespread among diverse animal species. Plants, and other organisms such as alga, bacteria, and fungus, can synthesize carotenoids while animals and humans obtain carotenoids from diets (DellaPenna and Pogson 2006). The key role of carotenoids in plants is in photosynthesis and in protecting the chlorophyll from photodamage (Von Lintig 2010).
