Establisment of quantitative analysis of multi-components by singer marker for content determination of 4 carotenoids in Lycium barbarum / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To establish a method for simultaneous determination of zeaxanthin ，β-carotene，β-cryptoxanthin palmitate and zeaxanthin dipalmitate in Lycium barbarum . METHODS L. barbarum was extracted with n-hexane-anhydrous ethanol-acetone-toluene（10∶6∶7∶7，V/V/V/V）by ultrasonic method. High performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）method was adopted. The determination was performed on YMC C 30 column with mobile phase A consisted of methanol-acetonitrile-water （81∶ 14 ∶ 5，V/V/V）and mobile phase B consisted of dichloromethane （gradient elution ）at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The column temperature was set at 20 ℃. The detection wavelength was set at 450 nm，and sample size was 20 μL. Using zeaxanthin as control，the relative correction factors （RCFs）of β-carotene，β-cryptoxanthin palmitate and zeaxanthin dipalmitate were calculated ， and then the content of each component was calculated according to RCFs and compared with the results of external standard method（ESM）. RESULTS The linear range of zeaxanthin ，β-carotene，β-cryptoxanthin palmitate and zeaxanthin dipalmitate were 0.119 4-2.983 8，0.121 7-1.521 6，0.285 9-5.718 8，8.460 5-211.513 3 μg/mL（all R2＞0.999）. RSDs of precision ，repeatability and stability（16 h）tests were all less than 4％. The average recoveries were 103.34％，107.37％，105.64％，96.16％（RSD＜5％，n＝ 9）. The average RCFs of β-carotene，β-cryptoxanthin palmitate and zeaxanthin dipalmitate were 1.109，1.390，1.158. The relative errors of the content determination results by quantitative analysis of multi-components by singer marker （QAMS）and ESM were within ±1％. CONCLUSIONS The established HPLC-QAMS method is accurate and stable ，which can be used for the content determination and quality control of 4 carotenoids in L. barbarum .

Effects of selenium and β-carotene combined on growth process and antioxidant capacity of rats / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

Objective: To study the effects of selenium and β-carotene alone or in combination on the growth process and antioxidant capacity of rats so as to provide basic data for the joint application of the two in early prevention and treatment of chronic diseases caused by oxidative damage. Methods:Rats aged 7 weeks were randomly divided into four groups: Se group [sodium selenite 0.3 mg/(kg•d)], β-C group [β-carotene 10 mg/(kg•d)], Se+β-C group [sodium selenite 0.3 mg/(kg•d) +β-carotene 10 mg/(kg•d)]. The rats were intragastrically administered for 4 weeks, and those in the control group were intragastrically administered with the same volume of normal saline and corn oil. The rats were weighed every two days. Four weeks later, the changes of ALT and AST in the serum were detected by the automatic biochemical analyzer; the indexes of oxidation (MDA) and antioxidants (SOD, CAT and GSH) in the serum or liver tissue were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The activities of T-SOD and GSH-Px, the content of MDA in the serum of rats did not significantly differ between the experimental group and the control group (P>0.05). β-C significantly enhanced the activities of T-SOD and GSH-Px in rat liver tissue (P<0.05). Conclusion: Selenium and β-caroten alone or in combination have no harmful effect on the normal growth process of rats. The latter improves the anti-oxidative ability of rat liver tissue, and it has certain positive effects on the early prevention and treatment of chronic diseases.

Engineering CrtW and CrtZ for improving biosynthesis of astaxanthin in Escherichia coli / 中国天然药物

This study engineered β-carotene ketolase CrtW and β-carotene hydroxylase CrtZ to improve biosynthesis of astaxanthin in Escherichia coli. Firstly, crtW was randomly mutated to increase CrtW activities on conversion from β-carotene to astaxanthin. A crtW* mutant with A6T, T105A and L239M mutations has improved 5.35-fold astaxanthin production compared with the wild-type control. Secondly, the expression levels of crtW* and crtZ on chromosomal were balanced by simultaneous modulation RBS regions of their genes using RBS library. The strain RBS54 selected from RBS library, directed the pathway exclusively towards the desired product astaxanthin as predominant carotenoid (99%). Lastly, the number of chromosomal copies of the balanced crtW-crtZ cassette from RBS54 was increased using a Cre-loxP based technique, and a strain with 30 copies of the crtW*-crtZ cassette was selected. This final strain DL-A008 had a 9.8-fold increase of astaxanthin production compared with the wild-type control. Fed-batch fermentation showed that DL-A008 produced astaxanthin as predominant carotenoid (99%) with a specific titer of 0.88 g·L without addition of inducer. In conclusion, through constructing crtW mutation, balancing the expression levels between crtW* and crtZ, and increasing the copy number of the balanced crtW*-crtZ cassette, the activities of β-carotene ketolase and β-carotene hydroxylase were improved for conversion of β-carotene to astaxanthin with higher efficiency. The series of conventional and novel metabolic engineering strategies were designed and applied to construct the astaxanthin hetero-producer strain of E. coli, possibly offering a general approach for the construction of stable hetero-producer strains for other natural products.

Microencapsulated β-carotene preparation using different drying treatments / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

β-Carotene is one of the most abundant natural pigments in foods; however, usage of β-carotene is limited because of its instability. Microencapsulation techniques are usually applied to protect microencapsulated β-carotene from oxidization. In this study, β-carotene was microencapsulated using different drying processes: spray-drying, spray freeze-drying, coating, and spray granulation. The properties of morphology, particle size, water content, thermal characteristic, and chemical stability have been explored and compared. Scanning electron microscopy measurements showed that the coated powder had a dense surface surrounded by starch and suggested that the coating process gave a microencapsulated powder with the smallest bulk density and the best compressibility among the prepared powders. The chemical stabilities of microcapsules were evaluated during six months of storage at different temperatures. The coated powder had the highest mass fraction of β-carotene, which indicated that the coating process was superior to the three other drying processes.

Microencapsulated β-carotene preparation using different drying treatments / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

β-Carotene is one of the most abundant natural pigments in foods; however, usage of β-carotene is limited because of its instability. Microencapsulation techniques are usually applied to protect microencapsulated β-carotene from oxidization. In this study, β-carotene was microencapsulated using different drying processes: spray-drying, spray freeze-drying, coating, and spray granulation. The properties of morphology, particle size, water content, thermal characteristic, and chemical stability have been explored and compared. Scanning electron microscopy measure¬ments showed that the coated powder had a dense surface surrounded by starch and suggested that the coating process gave a microencapsulated powder with the smallest bulk density and the best compressibility among the prepared powders. The chemical stabilities of microcapsules were evaluated during six months of storage at different temperatures. The coated powder had the highest mass fraction of β-carotene, which indicated that the coating pro¬cess was superior to the three other drying processes.

Beta-carotene prevents the spermatogenic disorders induced by exogenous scrotal hyperthermia through modulations of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and androgen biosynthesis in mice / 대한수의학회지

We investigated whether β-carotene (β-CA) or ellagic acid (EA), originating from various fruits and vegetables, has a preventive effect against male infertility induced by exogenous scrotal hyperthermia. ICR adult mice were intraperitoneally treated with 10 mg/kg of β-CA or EA daily for 13 days consecutively. During this time, mice were subjected to transient scrotal heat stress in a water bath at 43℃ for 20 min on day 7, and their testes and blood were obtained on day 14 for histopathologic and biochemical analyses. Heat stress induced significant testicular weight reduction, germ cell loss and degeneration, as well as abnormal localization of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in spermatogenic and Leydig cells. Heat stress also altered the levels of oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation, SOD activity, and PHGPx, MnSOD, and HIF-1α mRNAs), apoptosis (Bax, Bcl-xL, caspase 3, NF-κB, and TGF-β1 mRNAs), and androgen biosynthesis (serological testosterone concentration and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase mRNA) in testes. These changes were all improved significantly by β-CA treatment, but only slightly improved by EA treatment. These findings indicate that β-CA, through modulations of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and androgen biosynthesis, is a potent preventive agent against testicular injuries induced by scrotal hyperthermia.

Effect of beta-carotene on learning, memory and expression of caspase-3 and phosphorylated tau in hippocampus of rats with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome / 临床神经病学杂志

Objective To observe the effect of β-carotene ( β-C ) on the learning and memory and the expression of caspase-3 and p-tau expression in hippocampus of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome ( OSAS) rats. Methods Twenty-four adult SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group, OSAS model group ( model group) and β-C intervention group (intervention group), with 8 rats in each group. A hypoxic chamber was used to establish an OSAS rat animal model. The rats in model group and intervention group were given by gavage before intragastric administration, and no treatment was performed in the normal group. After completion of the modeling, the Morris water maze was used to test the learning and memory ability of the experimental rats. Observing the pathological changes of hippocampal tissue in rats by HE staining. The protein expression of caspase-3 and p-tau in hippocampus was detected by Western Blotting. Results Escape latency time of model group in each time point were significantly prolonged than those in normal control group ( all P<0. 05), and escape latency time of intervention group at 2-5 d were significantly shorter than those in model group (all P<0. 05). The number of times of crossing the platform in model group was significantly less than that in normal control group and intervention group ( all P<0. 05). Compared with those in model group, the expression of caspase-3 and p-tau in normal control group and intervention group were significantly lower (all P<0. 05). Conclusion β-C can reduce the impairment of learning and memory ability caused by OSAS, and the mechanism may be related to its inhibition of caspase-3 and p-tau protein expression.

Improving β-carotene production in Escherichia coli by modularized regulation of the membrane synthetic pathway and morphology engineering / 生物工程学报

Carotenoids are a class of terpenes of commercial interest and exert important biological functions. Engineering morphological and biosynthetic aspects of Escherichia coli cell membrane could improve its storage capacity for β-carotene. However, how the synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine, the major component of the cell membrane, was not discussed in detail. In this work, the synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine was divided into three modules to discuss their synergetic effect, by expressing in different combinations. Overexpressing the upstream module 1 in CAR016 caused a 30.5% increase of β-carotene specific production (from 10.1 mg/g to 13.7 mg/g DCW); combined overexpressing module 1 and module 2 in CAR016 led to a 122% increase of β-carotene specific production (from 10.5 mg/g to 22.3 mg/g DCW). The optimal expression combination of the phosphatidylethanolamine synthetic pathway was obtained, which further increased the content of the cell membrane for β-carotene storage, and improved its production. The membrane engineering strategy opens up a new direction for engineering microbial producers for a large spectrum of hydrophobic molecules.

Construction of high-yield strain by optimizing lycopene cyclase for β-carotene production / 生物工程学报

To optimize key enzymes, such as to explore the gene resources and to modify the expression level, can maximize metabolic pathways of target products. β-carotene is a terpenoid compound with important application value. Lycopene cyclase (CrtY) is the key enzyme in β-carotene biosynthesis pathway, catalyzing flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent cyclization reaction and β-carotene synthesis from lycopene precursor. We optimized lycopene cyclase (CrtY) to improve the synthesis of β-carotene and determined the effect of CrtY expression on metabolic pathways. Frist, we developed a β-carotene synthesis module by coexpressing the lycopene β-cyclase gene crtY with crtEBI module in Escherichia coli. Then we simultaneously optimized the ribosome-binding site (RBS) intensity and the species of crtY using oligo-linker mediated DNA assembly method (OLMA). Five strains with high β-carotene production capacity were screened out from the OLMA library. The β-carotene yields of these strains were up to 15.79-18.90 mg/g DCW (Dry cell weight), 65% higher than that of the original strain at shake flask level. The optimal strain CP12 was further identified and evaluated for β-carotene production at 5 L fermentation level. After process optimization, the final β-carotene yield could reach to 1.9 g/L. The results of RBS strength and metabolic intermediate analysis indicated that an appropriate expression level of CrtY could be beneficial for the function of the β-carotene synthesis module. The results of this study provide important insight into the optimization of β-carotene synthesis pathway in metabolic engineering.

Progress in metabolic engineering of β-carotene synthesis / 生物工程学报

β-carotene is an important natural plant pigment and has various physiological functions in organisms. With the proposition of systematic biology and progress in carotenoids biosynthesis since the 1960s, metabolic engineering has played a significant role in enhancing carotenoid production. In this review, we present β-carotene's traditional production methods and metabolic engineering strategies for constructing β-carotene-producing strains. Meanwhile, main problems and corresponding solutions to improve β-carotene yield of engineered strains were further analyzed, for further efficient microbial production of β-carotene.

Improving β-carotene production in Escherichia coli by metabolic engineering of glycerol utilization pathway / 生物工程学报

Glycerol is a byproduct during biodiesel production. It is an important feedstock for fermentation due to its low price and high reduced status. Multiple genes of the glycerol utilization pathway were modulated in a previously engineered high β-carotene producing Escherichia coli strain CAR015 to enhance glycerol utilization capability for improving isoprenoids production. The glpR gene, encoding glycerol 3-phosphate repressor, was firstly deleted. The glpFK, glpD and tpiA genes were then modulated by three artificial regulatory parts, M1-37, M1-46 and M1-93, respectively. β-carotene titer reached 64.82 mg/L after modulating glpD with M1-46, which was 4.86 times higher than that of CAR015, and glycerol consumption rate also increased 100%. Modulating tpiA led to a little increase of β-carotene titer, whereas modulating glpFK led to a little decrease of β-carotene titer. This demonstrated that GlpD was a rate-limiting step in glycerol utilization pathway. Q-PCR of glpF, glpK, glpD and tpiA results showed that decrease the transcription level of glpF, glpK, glpD, or decrease the transcription level of tpiA could increase the cell growth and β-carotene production, probably for the decrease of methylglyoxal toxicity. Modulating glpD and tpiA genes in combination resulted in the best strain Gly003, which produced 72.45 mg/L β-carotene with a yield of 18.65 mg/g dry cell weight. The titer was 5.23 and yield 1.99 times of that of the parent strain CAR015. Our work suggested that appropriate activation of glpD and tpiA genes in glycerol utilization pathway could effectively improve β-carotene production. This strategy can be used for production of other terpenoids in E. coli.

Effects of β-carotene on expression of cell tight junction protein of IPEC-J2 with LPS-stimulated / 中国免疫学杂志

Objective:To investigate the mechanism of β-carotene anti-inflammatory on intestinal epithelial cells.Methods:The piglet jejunum epithelium(IPEC-J2)cell line was used as an cell model.The cells were divided into 4 groups[control group,β-carotene group,β-carotene pre-protective group and Lipopoly-saccharide(LPS)group].The control group was not treated,β-carotene group and β-carotene pre-protective group were pretreated with β-carotene.Lipopoly-saccharide(LPS)and β-carotene pre-protective groups were stimulated with LPS.The cell viability was detected by MTT.Western blot was performed to detect the expression of Occludin,Claudin4 and ZO-1 tight junction proteins.Results:The expression of IPEC-J2 cell tight junction protein in LPS group were significantly lower than that of the control group(P<0.05).The expression of tight junction protein in β-carotene pre-protective group was significantly higher than that in LPS group(P<0.05).Conclusion:Increasing the expression of tight junction proteins may be one of the ways that anti-inflammatory effect of β-carotene in jejunum epithelial cells.

Effects and mechanism of β-carotene on inflammatory factors in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells / 中国免疫学杂志

Objective:To investigate the effects and mechanism of β-carotene on inflammatory factors (IL-1 β,IL-6,TNF-α) in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells.Methods:Firstly,RAW264.7 cells of being induced by 4 (5 μg/ml)for 24 h were treated with different concentration of β-carotene (20,40,80,160 pmol/L)for 3 h.The cells viability was measured by MTIT,the mRNA relative expression of IL-1 β,IL-6,TNF-cα was detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR,the secretion capacity of IL-1 β,IL-6,TNF-α was detected by ELISA and the protein relative expression of NF-κB p65 protein was measured by Western blot.Secondly,RAW264.7 cells were induced by LPS(5 μg/ml) and different concentration of PDTC(1,5,10 μg/ml)for 24 h,NF-κB p65 protein was measured by Western blot and inflammatory factors were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR and ELISA.Finally,compared the changes in the relative expression of inflammatory factors and NF-κB p65 protein between LPS+PDTC group and LPS+PDTC + β-carotene group.Results:Compared with the LPS-induced group,β-carotene could increase the cell viability of LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells and inhibied the relative expression of inflammatory factors and NF-κB p65 protein.Inhibited the relative expression of NF-κB p65 protein could reduce the relative expression of inflammatory factors.Compared with the LPS+PDTC group,LPS +PDTC + β-carotene group could inhibit the relative expression of inflammatory factors significantly (P＜0.05).But,there was little difference about the relative expression of NF-κB p65 protein between this two groups.Conclusion:β-carotene inhibits the relative expression of inflammatory factors(IL-1 β,IL-6,TNF-α) in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells through inhibition of NF-κB p65 protein in NF-κB pathway,this pathway isn't unique.

Antioxidant and Antiaging Assays of Hibiscus sabdariffa Extract and Its Compounds

Skin aging is a complex biological process due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Free radical oxidative is one of extrinsic factors that induce activation of collagenase, elastase and hyaluronidase. Natural product from plants has been used as antioxidant and antiaging. This study aimed to evaluate antioxidant and antiaging properties of Hibiscus sabdariffa extract (HSE) and its compounds including myricetin, ascorbic acid, and β carotene. The phytochemical of H. sabdariffa was determined using modified Farnsworth method and presence of phenols, flavonoids and tannins were in moderate content, whereas triterpenoids and alkaloids were in low content. Total phenolic content performed using Folin-Ciocalteu method, was 23.85 µg GAE/mg. Quantitative analysis of myricetin, β-carotene, and ascorbic acid of HSE was performed with Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) that shows 78.23 µg/mg myricetin, 0.034 µg/mg β-carotene, whilst ascorbic acid was not detected. HSE has lower activity on DPPH (IC₅₀ = 195.73 µg/mL) compared to β-carotene, the lowest in ABTS assay (IC50 = 74.58 µg/mL) and low activity in FRAP assay (46.24 µM Fe(II)/µg) compared to myricetin, β-carotene. Antiaging was measured through inhibitory activity of collagenase, elastase, and hyaluronidase. HSE had weakest collagenase inhibitory activity (IC₅₀= 750.33 µg/mL), elastase inhibitory activity (103.83 µg/mL), hyaluronidase inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 619.43 µg/mL) compared to myricetin, β-carotene, and ascorbic acid. HSE contain higher myricetin compared to β-carotene. HSE has moderate antioxidants and lowest antiaging activities. Myricetin is the most active both antioxidant and antiaging activities.

Effect of β-carotene on Cell Growth Inhibition of KB Human Oral Cancer Cells

β-carotene is present in carrots, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes. It suppresses many types of cancers by regulating cellular proliferation and apoptosis through a variety of mechanisms. However, the effects of β -carotene on oral cancer cells have not been clearly established. The main goal of this study was to investigate the effects of β-carotene on cell growth and apoptosis in oral cancer cells. Our results demonstrate that treatment with β-carotene induced inhibition of cell growth, and that the effect was dependent on β-carotene treatment time and concentration in KB cells. Furthermore, treatment with β-carotene induced nuclear condensation and fragmentation in KB cells. β-carotene promoted proteolytic cleavage of procaspase-3, -7, -8 and -9 with associated increases in the concentration of cleaved caspase-3, -7, -8 and -9. In addition, the level of cleaved PARP was increased by β-carotene treatment in KB cells. These results suggest that β-carotene can suppress cell growth and induce apoptosis in KB human oral cancer cells, and that it may have potential usefulness in anti-cancer drug discovery efforts.

Beta Carotene Intake And Oral Cancer Risk

Objectives: This study aims to identify the relationship between dietary intakes of β-carotene with riskof oral cancer. Methods: A hospital-based, case-control study was conducted on 306 Malaysians whoseek treatment at participating centres/hospitals. Subjects selected from the Malaysian Oral Cancer Dataand Tissue Banking System (MOCDTBS) consisted of 153 cases and 153 controls that were matchedfor gender, age (±5 years) and ethnicity. Food consumption was measured using Food FrequencyQuestionnaire (FFQ). NutrieMart Version 2.0.0 software was used to estimate daily nutrient of eachsubject from the FFQ. Logistic Regression analysis was conducted to compute the odds ratio (OR) forintakes of β-carotene and oral cancer risk. Results: Intake of β-carotene was found to be not associatedwith risk of oral cancer (OR 0.83, 95%CI: 0.42-1.66, p>0.05). Conclusion: No significant associationwas found between dietary intakes of β-carotene with oral cancer risk in this study population.

Effects of betaine, taurine, lycium barbarum polysaccharides in lycium barbarum L. on the pharmacokinetics of β-carotene in beagle dogs / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of betaine, taurine, lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) in Lycium barbarum L. on the pharmacokinetics of β-carotenes(β-C) in beagle dogs. METHODS: Six Beagle dogs divided into two groups randomly, were given β-carotenes or β-carotenes combined with betaine, taurine or LBP, respectively. The concentrations of β-caro-tenes, retinol and retinol palmitate in dog plasma at different time points were determined by HPLC method. The main pharmacokinetic parameters were processed by the software DAS2.0.1. RESULTS: Compared with β-carotenes group, the t1/2 of β-carotenes was prolonged (P 0.05). CONCLUSION: Other ingredients in Lycium barbarum L. could influence the pharmacokinetic process of in Beagle dogs. The functions of nourishing liver and improving eyesight by Lycium barbarum L. did not result from a single component, but from its multi-ingredients.

THE CHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL STUDY OF CULTIVATED CALENDULA OFFICINALIS EXTRACT / Монголын эм зүй, эм судлал

Introduction: Calendula officinalis L. is aromatic herbaceous yearling of the family of Asteraceae. Ethanol extract, decoction and ointment of the plant is used to treat or relieve injury, trauma, erosion, purulent trauma or slow healing abrasions, furuncle, carbuncle, congelation, burn, bed sore, herpes and lichen as cream and spray. Goal :To define biologically active substances in cultivated calendula officinalis Materials and Methods: Calendula officinalis has been harvested from Monos pharmacological institute, garden of medical plants and prepared according to the appropriate standards. β –carotene and flavonoids were quantified by spectrophotometer, Alkaloid, tannin and ascorbic acids were quantified by tetrameter, Extractive substances, ash and humidity were quantified by weight analysis Results: Quantitative analysis of the flower of calendula officinalis has been carried out following first Mongolian national pharmacopeia and Russian National pharmacopeia XI and defined that β -carotene 1.4313%, alkaloids 0.1229%, flavonoids 2.8817%, tannin 1.2376%, ascorbic acid 0.0702%, extractive substances 40.18%, ash content 11.75% and humidity 5.95%. Flower of calendula officinalis has been extracted by water, 30%, 50% and 80% ethanol, then made comparative analysis on content of β–carotiene. When extracted by 80% ethanol, content of β – carotene was the highest or 150 mg. Therefore optimum extraction solvent quantity has been defined to be 80% ethanol. Microbiological analysis has no revealed any organisms and bacteria in solid extract of the plant. Conclusions: 1. Quality and countable analysis of biologically active substance in the flower of calendula officinalis has been completed. 2. β –carotene the main active substance in cultivated calendula officinalis, is found to be 1.4 gr which that meets Mongolian National Standards of medicine. 3. The 80% ethanol extract of calendula officinalis contained 150mg β –carotene, the maximum content of β –carotene. Hence optimum extraction solvent was found to be 80%ethanol and it will be and used for future research. 4. Microbiological parameters of 80% solid extract of the plant has met quality requirements. Key words: β –carotene, Biologically active substance, Calendula officinalis,

Effects of beta-carotene on intestine mucosa barrier function in rats damaged by X-ray / 肠外与肠内营养

Objective: To investigate effects of beta-carotene on instestine mucosa barrier function in rats damaged by X-ray radiation. Methods: 40 female SD rats were randomized into 4 groups as the normal control group (Group C) ,the radiation group (Group R) ,the β-C 5 mg/(kg · d) group (Group T1) and the β-C 10 mg/(kg · d) group (Group T2). After 14 days of continuous administration of peanut oil in groups C and R or beta-carotene (2. 5 mL/kg) in groups T1 and T2,the rats in groups R, T1 and T2 were radiated under a 9 Gy dose of X-ray. And then 3 days later,the rats were killed and the amount of diamine oxidase(DAO) and the level of bacterial endotoxin were detected. The structure and length of the crypt-villus axis (CVA) of jejunum were also observed and analyzed. Results: Obvious slow weight gain was observed in group R. Compared with group C, the CVA of group R was significantly shorter (P0.05). The CVA of group T1 was significantly longer than that of group R, but the intestinal mucosal injury was slighter(P 0. 05). Group T2 gained more than group T1 (P 0. 05). Conclusion: Beta-carotene may decrease the X-ray radiation damage on jejunum and maintain the normal function of gut mucosa barrier in rats.

The Effect of Serum Carotenoids on Atrophic Gastritis Among the Inhabitants of a Rural Area in Hokkaido, Japan

A total of 206 residents (76 males and 130 females) of a rural area of Hokkaido, Japan, attending a health check in August, 1997, were studied to assess the relationship between serum carotenoids and atrophic gastritis (AG). Of the participants, 91 had AG, as indicated by their serum levels of pepsinogen I and pepsinogen II. Logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for gender and age, revealed that the odds ratios for serum carotenoid levels were lower for subjects with high serum levels of α-carotene (odds ratio, 0.41; 95% C.I., 0.19−0.88) and β-carotene (odds ratio, 0.41; 95% C.I., 0.18−0.91) than for those with low serum carotenoid levels. In addition, the odds ratios of subjects with high serum levels of β-cryptoxanthin (odds ratio, 0.60; 95% C.I., 0.28−1.31), provitamin A (odds ratio, 0.38; 95% C.I., 0.17−0.85), and retinol (odds ratio, 0.67; 95% C.I., 0.31−1.48) were found to be lower than the odds ratios for those with low serum levels. Odds ratios for subjects with high serum zeaxanthin/lutein levels were higher than odds ratios for those with low serum levels. These results suggest that frequent intake of foods rich in carotenoids with provitamin A activity may reduce the risk of AG.