Potential Role of Carotenoids as Antioxidants in Human Health and Disease (original) (raw)
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Antioxidant and pro-oxidant activities of carotenoids and their oxidation products
Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association, 2018
Carotenoids are lipid soluble plant pigments that make part of human daily diet. These compounds are able to react with diverse reactive species and originate a myriad of oxidation products that have similar or even more reactivity than their parent compounds. These products may be short-chain carbonyl compounds and, the commonly designated, apo-carotenoids. The effects fo these products in the human body are not yet fully understood, but it is believed that they are intimately related with their oxidative potential. As so, carotenoids and their oxidation products have undeniable potential as bioactive compounds. However, the multifactorial elements that influence their activity/reactivity make really hard, or probably impossible, the task to classify them as anti- or pro-oxidant compounds. This manuscript provides a thorough review on the reactions of carotenoids with the most physiologically relevant reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and scrutinizes the resulting oxidation pro...
Pharmacological Research, 2007
Oxidative stress is an important contributor to the risk of chronic diseases. Dietary guidelines recommend increased consumption of fruits and vegetables to combat the incidence of human diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and diabetes. Fruits and vegetables are good sources of antioxidant phytochemicals that mitigate the damaging effect of oxidative stress. Carotenoids are a group of phytochemicals that are responsible for different colors of the foods. They are recognized as playing an important role in the prevention of human diseases and maintaining good health. In addition to being potent antioxidants some carotenoids also contribute to dietary vitamin A. There is scientific evidence in support of the beneficial role of phytochemicals in the prevention of several chronic diseases. Although the chemistry of carotenoids has been studied extensively, their bioavailability, metabolism and biological functions are only now beginning to be investigated. Recent interest in carotenoids has focused on the role of lycopene in human health. Unlike some other carotenoids, lycopene does not have pro-vitamin A properties. Because of the unsaturated nature of lycopene it is considered to be a potent antioxidant and a singlet oxygen quencher. This article will review carotenoids in general and lycopene in particular for their role in human health.
Carotenoids: Potent to Prevent Diseases Review
Natural Products and Bioprospecting, 2020
Carotenoids are the phytochemicals known for their biological activities. They are found in nature in the form of plants, algae, fungi and in microorganisms. This is the major group having two different structure one with oxygen and without oxygen. The Present article aims to present these molecules as a new therapeutic agent, as it has unrealized efficiency to prevent and reduce the symptoms of many diseases like cancer, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer, cerebral ischemia, diabetes associated with obesity and hypertension, ophthalmic diseases and many more. It can be utilized in the form of dietary supplement as nutraceutical and pharmaceutical compounds. Yet more research and developing test knowledge is needed to make it available to the humans. In this article its sources, biosynthesis, properties, applicability and commercialization of pigments from naturally produced sources are discussed. Graphic Abstract
Functional Properties of Carotenoids in Human Health
International Journal of Food Properties, 2007
Carotenoids are compounds of great dietery importance. Recent interest in carotenoids has been stimulated by epidemiological studies that strongly suggest that consumption of carotenoid-rich foods reduces the incidence of several diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, agerelated macular degeneration, cataracts, diseases related to low immune function, and other degenerative diseases. Health benefits of carotenoids are derived from the fruits and vegetables in the diet, particularly from cooked products containing oil, or from supplements of their extracts, such as tomato sauce, dried tomatoes, or those suspended in oil. This article provides a brief overview of the chemistry of carotenoids-their absorption, transport, bioavailability, metabolism, and their action as antioxidants, and in the prevention of a number of common diseases.
Carotenoids in Foods and their Effects on Human Health
2014
Carotenoids, responsible for the red, orange and yellow color in foods, consist a part of the pigment family that naturally present in vegetables and fruits. Six main carotenoids found in human blood serum and taken with the diet are βand α-carotenes, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and β–cryptoxanthin. Many studies suggest that carotenoids have a positive effect on several diseases such as certain type of cancers, cardiovascular and ocular diseases, especially age related macular degeneration and cataract. The antioxidant properties of carotenoids may be responsible for their beneficial influence on human health. Human organisms are unable to synthesize carotenoids, therefore these compounds have to be supplied with the diet. Main carotenoid sources include carrots, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, egg yolk and corn. In this study, carotenoids in foods and their effects on human health are reviewed.
The carotenoids as anti-oxidants — a review
Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 1997
Carotenoids are abundant in many fruit.,, and vegetables and they play diver~e roles in photobiology, photochemi~,try and medic;he. Thi~ review concerns the reactivity of carotenoidx with singlet oxygen and the interaction of carotenoids with a range of tree radical~. Mcchani~m.~ associated with the anti-and pro-oxidant behaviour of carotencids are discussed including carotenoid interactions v, ith other anti-oxidants. © 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.
Biological Activity of Carotenoids: Its Implications in Cancer Risk and Prevention
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2012
Recently nontoxic natural compounds are getting immense importance for the prevention of diseases of different etiology. Natural product provitamin A "carotenoids", largely-carotene,-carotene, and-cryptoxanthin, are typical constituents of orange/red/yellow colored fruits and green vegetables. Different in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that carotenoids possess the capacity to scavenge DNA damaging free radicals, suppress angiogenesis, inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. Epidemiological reports of case-control studies, nested case-control studies, and cohort studies support significant association between dietary intake and circulating levels of carotenoids and reduction in cancer risk/carcinoma of various organs. However, randomized trials regarding-carotene supplementation, alone or in combination with other supplements, have not always well corroborated with this. Of seven trials, one observed a significant benefit on cancer mortality, four reported no significant benefit or harm, while the remaining two trials found an unexpected, but significant increase in lung cancer incidence. This review discusses implications and significance of carotenoids in the field of cancer risk and prevention.
Mechanistic aspects of carotenoid health benefits – where are we now?
Nutrition Research Reviews, 2021
Dietary intake and tissue levels of carotenoids have been associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity, brain-related diseases and some types of cancer. However, intervention trials with isolated carotenoid supplements have mostly failed to confirm the postulated health benefits. It has thereby been speculated that dosing, matrix and synergistic effects, as well as underlying health and the individual nutritional status plus genetic background do play a role. It appears that our knowledge on carotenoid-mediated health benefits may still be incomplete, as the underlying mechanisms of action are poorly understood in relation to human relevance. Antioxidant mechanisms – direct or via transcription factors such as NRF2 and NF-κB – and activation of nuclear hormone receptor pathways such as of RAR, RXR or also PPARs, via carotenoid metabolites, are the basic principles which we try to connect with carotenoid-trans...
Nutritional and potential disease prevention properties of carotenoids
Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 2001
Epidemiological studies have shown that people who consume diets with a high content of vegetables have a reduced risk of degenerative diseases such as specific cancers, cardiovascular disease, age-related macular degenerative disease (AMD), and cataracts. There is no convincing evidence that the protective role of vegetables against cancer and cardiovascular disease is due to carotenoids. However, there is a strong possibility that lutein and zeaxanthin present in food materials may prevent AMD and cataract formation. Increased use of cooked tomato products also has been shown to reduce prostate cancer risk as a result of increased bioavailability of cis-lycopene. One of the most important biochemical mechanisms underlying the cancer-preventive activity of carotenoids is the stimulation of intercellular gap junction communications. β-Carotene, canthaxanthin, and lutein are efficient inducers of intercellular gap junction communication, whereas α-carotene and lycopene are less active.
The Open Medicinal Chemistry Journal, 2023
Background: The majority of foods, vegetation, plankton, and photosynthetic bacteria all include carotenoids, which are pigments that naturally exist. Since humans are unable to produce carotenoids, they must be consumed through food or supplements. There are many roles for carotenoids in ensuring human health. They generally act as antioxidants, but different carotenoids may also have other functions. For instance, β-carotene functions as pro-vitamin A, while lutein and zeaxanthin make up the macular pigmentation in the eyes.