Phytochemicals in Foods: Phytochemicals in Foods - 11 Health Benefits of Carotenes

Carotenes are the group of orange pigments phytochemical belonging to the class of Carotenoids (tetraterpenoids), found abundantly in carrots, pumpkins, maize, tangerine, orange, in dark, leafy greens and red, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables, etc.

Health Benefits
1. Chronic leg ulcers
In the Comparison of nutritional serum indices between patients with chronic leg ulcers and an age-matched control population, found that elderly Bostonian patients with chronic leg ulcers have low levels of vitamins A and E, carotenes, and zinc. Nutritional deficiency or increased consumption of nutritional elements in these patients may influence wound healing rates, according to "Patients with chronic leg ulcers show diminished levels of vitamins A and E, carotenes, and zinc" by Rojas AI, Phillips TJ.(1)

2. Anti-inflammatory, and Antiproliferative Activity
In the investigation of the whole wheat flour from five wheat cultivars for phenolic, carotenoid and tocopherol composition, as well as anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activity against HT-29 cells, found that extracts of four cultivars demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity, measured as inhibition of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) mRNA expression; however none of the extracts inhibited tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-α) mRNA expression, a second indicator of anti-inflammatory activity. Proliferation of HT-29 adenocarcinoma cells was inhibited by extracts from all cultivars at the dose of 100 mg botanical equivalent/mL, according to "Phytochemical Composition, Anti-inflammatory, and Antiproliferative Activity of Whole Wheat Flour" by Whent M, Huang H, Lutterodt H, Zhuohong X, Lu Y, Fuerst EP, Morris CF, Yu LL, Luthria DL.(2)

3. Anti cancers
In the investigation of the molecular basis of interaction of selected carotenoids and xanthophylls with ascorbic acid on cancer cells, found that Several carotenoids inhibited the multidrug resistance of cancer cells. Ascorbic acid improved the effect of certain xanthophylls, but the effect of capsanthin was not modified, according to "Putative supramolecular complexes formed by carotenoids and xanthophylls with ascorbic Acid to reverse multidrug resistance in cancer cells" by Molnár J, Serly J, Pusztai R, Vincze I, Molnár P, Horváth G, Deli J, Maoka T, Zalatnai A, Tokuda H, Nishino H.(3)

4. Lung cancer
In the investigation of numerous epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated that individuals who eat more fruits and vegetables (which are rich in carotenoids) and who have higher serum β-carotene levels have a lower risk of cancer, especially lung cancer. However, two human intervention trials conducted in Finland and in the United States have reported contrasting results with high doses of β-carotene supplementation increasing the risk of lung cancer among smokers, indicated that the technical challenges associated with animal models include strain-specific and diet-specific effects, differences in the absorption and distribution of carotenoids, and differences in the interactions of carotenoids with other antioxidants. Despite the problems associated with extrapolating from animal models to humans, the understanding and development of various animal models may provide useful information regarding the protective effects of carotenoids against lung carcinogenesis, according to "Animal models in carotenoids research and lung cancer prevention" by Kim J, Kim Y.(4)

5. Anti stroke
In the examination of the associations between consumption of fruit and vegetable color groups with 10-year stroke incidence, indicated that fruits and vegetables were classified into 4 color groups. Medians of green, orange/yellow, red/purple, and white fruit and vegetable consumption were 62, 87, 57, and 118 g/d, respectively. Green, orange/yellow, and red/purple fruits and vegetables were not related to incident stroke. Higher intake of white fruits and vegetables was inversely associated with incident stroke (Q4, >171 g/d, versus Q1, ≤78 g/d; HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.29-0.77). Each 25-g/d increase in white fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with a 9% lower risk of stroke (HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85-0.97). Apples and pears were the most commonly consumed white fruit and vegetables (55%), according to "Colors of fruit and vegetables and 10-year incidence of stroke" by Oude Griep LM, Verschuren WM, Kromhout D, Ocké MC, Geleijnse JM.(5)

6. Coronary heart disease
In the examination of the associations between fruit and vegetables of different colours and their subgroups and 10-year CHD incidence, indicated that No clear associations were found for the colour groups separately. However, each 25 g/d increase in the intake of deep orange fruit and vegetables was inversely associated with CHD (HR 0·74; 95 % CI 0·55, 1·00). Carrots, their largest contributor (60 %), were associated with a 32 % lower risk of CHD (HR 0·68; 95 % CI 0·48, 0·98), according to "Colours of fruit and vegetables and 10-year incidence of CHD" by Oude Griep LM, Verschuren WM, Kromhout D, Ocké MC, Geleijnse JM.(6)

7. Gastric cancer
In the investigation of the association between consumption of fruits and vegetables and the incidence of gastric cancer among participants from two population-based cohort studies: 36,664 women in the Swedish Mammography Cohort and 45,338 men in the Cohort of Swedish Men, found that After controlling for age and other risk factors, women and men who consumed > or =2.5 servings/d of vegetables had a HR of 0.56 (95% CI, 0.34-0.93) for developing gastric cancer compared with those who consumed <1 serving/d. The respective HR for fruit consumption was 0.86 (95% CI, 0.52-1.43). Among specific subgroups of vegetables, consumption of green leafy vegetables and root vegetables was inversely associated with risk of gastric cancer; the multivariate HRs comparing > or =3 servings/wk with <0.5 serving/wk were 0.64 (95% CI, 0.42-0.99) for green leafy vegetables and 0.43 (95% CI, 0.27-0.69) for root vegetables, according to "Fruit and vegetable consumption and incidence of gastric cancer: a prospective study" by Larsson SC, Bergkvist L, Wolk A.(7)

8. Cardiovascular disease and cancer
In the evaluation of the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and the incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer and of deaths from other causes in two prospective cohorts.
found that increased fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with a modest although not statistically significant reduction in the development of major chronic disease. The benefits appeared to be primarily for cardiovascular disease and not for cancer, found that "Fruit and vegetable intake and risk of major chronic disease" by Hung HC, Joshipura KJ, Jiang R, Hu FB, Hunter D, Smith-Warner SA, Colditz GA, Rosner B, Spiegelman D, Willett WC.(8)

9. Oral cancer
In the investigation of a meta-analysis was performed to arrive at quantitative conclusions about the contribution of fruit and vegetable intakes to the occurrence of oral cancer, indicated that Sixteen studies (15 case-control studies and 1 cohort study) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The combined adjusted odds ratio (OR) estimates showed that each portion of fruit consumed per day significantly reduced the risk of oral cancer by 49% (OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.65). For vegetable consumption, the meta-analysis showed a significant reduction in the overall risk of oral cancer of 50% (OR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.38, 0.65). The multivariate meta-regression showed that the lower risk of oral cancer associated with fruit consumption was significantly influenced by the type of fruit consumed and by the time interval of dietary recall, according to "Association between fruit and vegetable consumption and oral cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies" by Pavia M, Pileggi C, Nobile CG, Angelillo IF.(9)

10. Ischemic brain injury
In the investigation of a complementary approach in which the delivery of metabolic substrates is enhanced by facilitating the diffusion of oxygen and glucose from the vasculature into neural tissue during ischemia, found that the carotenoid compound, trans-sodium crocetinate (TSC) is capable of increasing oxygen and glucose diffusivity, and our studies demonstrate that TSC increases cerebral tissue oxygenation in the penumbra of a focal ischemic event, according to "Metabolic reflow as a therapy for ischemic brain injury" by Manabe H, Wang Y, Yoshimura R, Cai Y, Fitzgerald M, Clarke R, Lee KS.(10)

11. Asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis
found that participants with ultrasonic evidence of carotid atherosclerosis exhibited significantly greater body mass index, significantly higher serum concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL-associated cholesterol and triglycerides, and significantly higher plasma concentrations of uric acid, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen. In contrast, participants with ultrasonic evidence of carotid atherosclerosis exhibited significantly lower plasma concentrations of lycopene and beta-carotene, according to "Carotenoids and asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis" by Riccioni G, D'Orazio N, Speranza L, Di Ilio E, Glade M, Bucciarelli V, Scotti L, Martini F, Pennelli A, Bucciarelli T.(11)

12. Etc.

Recommended E books
Dr. Joseph Mercola's Complete Guide
To Weight Loss, Preventing Diseases, Premature Aging,
And Living Healthy And Longer

For other phytochemicals articles, please visit http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.com/2011/10/phytochemicals-health-benefits.html
other health articles, please visit
http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.com/

Phytochemicals in Foods

Pages

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Phytochemicals in Foods - 11 Health Benefits of Carotenes

No comments:

Post a Comment