• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.489-498
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• 1997

Recent researches suggest that carotenoids are important not only as provitamin A but also for prevention of chronic diseases. This study was conduction to determine levels and factors affecting serum levels of lutein + zeaxanthin, $\beta$-cryptoxanthin, and $\beta$-carotene in 93 adults living in rural area of Korea. Fasting blood samples were collected and serum carotenoid levels were measured by HPLC. Dietary intake was estimated by 24 hour recall method and frequency questionnare of major food groups. Mean serum concentration of lutein + zeaxanthin was 616.32 nmol/L, $\beta$-cryptoxanthin was 856.95nmol/L, and $\beta$-carotene was 242.90nmol/L. Serum $\beta$-carotene levels in study subjects were very low. Both $\beta$-cryptxanthin and $\beta$-carotene were negatively correlated with serum triglyceride and positively correlated with total-choesterol and LDL-cholesterol. Serum levels of female subjects were significantly higher than males in all carotenoids. For age groups, subjects in their 30's were shown to have the highest concentration of all carotenoids. Lutein + zeaxanthin were lowest in subjects in theri 40's while $\beta$-crytoxanthin and $\beta$-carotene levels were lowest in subjects in their 60's. The $\beta$-carotene levels in non-smokers were significantly higher than in drinkers. Lutein+zeaxanthin levels were significantly higher among subjects consuming more green and yellow vegetables by frequency questionnarie. In conclusion, serum carotenoids were affected by sex, age, serum lipids, smoking, and alcohol intake. Intake of vegetables and fruits could affect by sex, serum lipids, smoking, and alchol intake. Intake of vegetables and fruits could affect serum lutein+zeaxanthin level. This data indicated that compared to other studies, Korean adults in rural areas have high lutein+zeaxanthin concentratins and low $\beta$-carotene concentrations in serum. High lutein+zeaxanthin levels may be related to high consumption of vegetables in these subjects.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.492-500
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• 1999

The aim of this study was to assess the association between total vitamin A, retinol and carotene intakes and serum concentration of total carotenoids in Korean male smokers and nonsmokers. Food frequency and nutrient intakes of 64 healthy college students were estimated by the 24 hour recall method and food frequency questionnaire and analyzed by smoking status. Serum total cartenoids and lipid profiles were measured in 28 smokers and 36 nonsmokers. The mean total vitamin A, retinol and carotene intakes of smokers were not significantly different from nonsmokers. However, carotene intakes of the smokers who have smoked more than 5 packyears were significantly lower than those of nonsmokers. Smokers consumed green yellow leafy vegetables more often(P=0.005) and fresh fruits less often(P=0.017) than nonsmokers. The serum total carotenoids of smokers consuming the same amount of retinol and carotene as nonsmokers, 1.79 g/ml, were 17% lower than nonsmokers, 2.15 g/ml(P<0.05). The lipid profiles including total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol and triglycerides of smokers were not significantly different from nonsmokers, however, the concentration of HDL cholesterol of smokers were significantly higher than that of nonsmokers. The serum carotenoids concentration was positively associated with fruit consumption frequency in smokers, and also was positively associated with green yellow leafy vegetable consumption frequency in non smokers. There were no correlations between dietary and serum carotenoids for smokers as well as nonsmokers. It was concluded that smoking could be inversely related to the serum concentration of carotenoids at constant carotene intakes and smokers might require more carotene to reach the same concentration comparable to nonsmokers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2981-2986
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• 2015

Background: Despite many epidemiological studies on the effects of dietary antioxidant micronutrients on risk of cervical cancer, the findings remain uncertain and little evidence is available for serum nutrient markers. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between serum carotenoid, retinol and tocopherol concentrations and risk of cervical cancer among Chinese women. Materials and Methods: We conducted a hospital-based case-control study in which 358 adults (158 incident cases and 200 controls) were recruited from Xinjiang, China. Serum levels of carotenoids (${\alpha}$-carotene, ${\beta}$-carotene, ${\beta}$-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin), retinol, and tocopherols (${\alpha}$-tocopherol and ${\gamma}$-tocopherol) were assessed by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: We found inverse associations between serum carotenoid (${\alpha}$-carotene, ${\beta}$-carotene, and lutein/zeaxanthin) and tocopherol (${\alpha}$-tocopherol) concentrations and the risk of cervical cancer after adjusting for potential confounders, but a null association for retinol. The ORs for 1-SD increase were 0.71 (95 % CI: 0.56-0.92; p=0.003) for total carotenoids and 0.75 (95 % CI: 0.60-0.94; p=0.008) for total tocopherols. Conclusions: These results show that higher serum concentrations of some carotenoids and tocopherols are associated with a lower risk of cervical cancer among Chinese women.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.952-959
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• 1997

Korean intakes of Vitamin A have not reached RDA for a long time according to the National Nutrition Survey. The pupose of this study was to examine the serum response to short-term carotenoids-rich vegetable juices supplementation. A total of 31 female students were recruited for this study. Their average serum retinol content before supplementation began was 14.74$\mu\textrm{g}$/100ml, and 87% of them had lower than adequate levels. Serum $\beta$-carotene, $\alpha$-carotene, lycopene and lutein contents were 0.77, -, 0.74 and 8.29$\mu\textrm{g}$/100$m\ell$ respectively. The serum responses to 3 kinds of juice supplementation for 3 weeks are summarized as follows. A small but steady increase in serum retinol concentration was detected with the supplementation (p<.05), but the kinds of juice made no significant difference. Serum $\beta$-carotene contents also increased with the supplementation(p<.01), but the kinds of juice again made no significant difference. Serum lycopene increased with the lycopene-containing vegetable juice and tomato juice supplementation, but the increase wasn't significant. There was no change in serum lycopene levels with the lycopene free carrot juice supplementation. Finally, there were no signifnicant changes in serum lutein and $\alpha$-carotene levels with the 3 kinds of juice supplementation.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 1998

Five hundred and seventy-eight healthy subjects (351 men and 227 women) with a mean age of 44.8 years (45.2 for men, 44.3 for women) participated in this study. The serum concentrations of $\alpha$-tocopherol, \beta$-carotene, $\alpha$-carotene, zeaxanthin + lutein, cryptoxanthin, lycopene and retinol of normal Koreans were measured, and their relation to gender, age, BMI, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and menopausal status were evaluated. The concentrations of $\alpha$-tocopherol, carotenoids and retinol in serum were measured simultaneously by reverse phase HPLC (multi-wavelength, gradient and computerized automatic system). Average serum levels of $\alpha$-tocopherol, \beta$-carotene and retinol were 10.1$\pm$0.41\mu$g/dl, 33.1$\pm$1.24\mu$g/dl, and 82.0$\pm$1.63\mu$g/dl for men and 11.1$\pm$0.74\mu$g/ml, 48.1$\pm$1.60\mu$g/dl and 64.5$\pm$1.96\mu$g/dl for women, respectively, Serum concentrations of $\alpha$-tocopheol \beta$-carotene, $\alpha$-carotene, cryptoxanthin and lycopene appeared to be higher in women than in men. The serum concentrations of zeaxanthin + lutein increased with the increase in age of men and those of $\alpha$-carotene and \beta$-carotene increased with the increase in age of women. For men, current smokers showed significantly lower serum concentrations of \beta$-carotene and $\alpha$-carotene than ex-smokers (p <0.05) . Current drinkers also showed significantly lower serum \beta$-carotene and zeaxanthin + lutein concentrations than ex-drinkers. For women, current smokers showed significantly love. serum concentrations of zeaxanthin+lutein and cryptoxanthin than ex-smokes (p<0.05). Men with BMI$\geq$24 showed significantly lower serum concentrations of \beta$-carotene, $\alpha$-carotene, lycopene and cryptoxanthin than men with BMI < 20. The mean concentrations of $\alpha$-tocopherol, \beta$-carotene, $\alpha$-carotene and lycopene far postmenopausal women were higher than those for premenopausal women (p<0.05). In conclusion, there were obvious differences in serum $\alpha$-tocopherol and carotenoids levels depending on gender, age, cigarette-smoking habits, alcohol consumption, BMI and menopausal status. further studies are required to establish the normal levels of these vitamins for children and the elderly and to elucidate their roles in different disease states.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.464-473
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• 2009

The serum levels of antioxidant materials (${\alpha}$-carotene, ${\beta}$-carotene, ${\beta}$-cryptoxanthin, lutein, lycopene, ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, ${\gamma}$-tocopherol, retinol) of the healthy Korean middle-aged adults (n = 373) were measured and their relationships with the serum lipids and anthropometric indices were analyzed. The serum levels of ${\beta}$-cryptoxanthin, ${\beta}$-carotene, lutein were higher than those of lycopene and ${\alpha}$-carotene. The levels of all measured carotenoids except lutein were significantly higher in females than in males, but retinol level was vice versa. There was a tendency of increase in serum levels of antioxidant vitamins with increasing age. The serum carotenoid levels had a positive correlation with serum cholesterol and a negative correlation with serum triglyceride. The serum levels of tocopherols or retinol showed a significantly positive relationship with blood cholesterol or triglyceride. In overall, anthropometric indices showed negative relations with serum carotenoids levels, but vice versa with serum tocopherol or retinol levels. Particularly, ${\beta}$-carotene and lutein levels showed a significantly negative relation with blood pressure in male subjects. The serum levels of ${\alpha}$-carotene, ${\beta}$-carotene and ${\beta}$-cryptoxanthin had significantly negative relations with body fat-related indices in female subjects. The results demonstrated that blood antioxidants levels differed by sex and age, and had significant relations with blood lipid levels and anthropometric indices. Therefore, the rationale and significance of the relationships need to be elucidated in the future study related to dietary intakes and life style.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2008

Objectives : This study was conducted to investigate the associations of non alcoholic fatty liver with metabolic syndrome and the serum carotenoids. Methods : This study was conducted in a general hospital in South Korea from November, 2004 to August, 2005. The study subjects were 350 sampled persons who were aged from 40 years and older (males : 180, females : 170). They were grouped into the normal, mild and severe groups according to fat accumulation in their livers, as determined by ultrasonography. We analyzed the association between non alcoholic fatty liver and metabolic syndrome by multiple logistic regression analysis and we analyzed the association between non alcoholic fatty liver and the serum carotenoids by a general linear model(ANCOVA). Results : After adjustment for the effect of potential covariates, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was associated with fat accumulation in the liver (p trend <0.001). If the odds ratio of normal group is 1.00, then that of the mild group is 2.80 (95% C.I=1.17-6.71) and that of the severe group is 7.29 (95% C.I=2.76-19.30). The prevalence of metabolic alterations fitting the criteria of metabolic syndrome, according to the class of fat accumulation in the liver, was significantly increased, except for criteria of high blood pressure, a large waist circumference and low HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol level (p trend <0.001). The level of serum ${\beta}$-carotene was decreased according to the class of fat accumulation in the liver (p trend=0.036), but the levels of serum ${\alpha}$-carotene, lycopene, ${\beta}$-cryptoxanthin and lutein were not decreased. Conclusions : This study shows that non alcoholic fatty liver was associated with metabolic syndrome and with the serum ${\beta}$-carotene level.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.114-120
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: A pivotal role of oxidative stress has been emphasized in the pathogenesis as well as in the disease progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). We aimed at investigating serum levels of antioxidant vitamins and elucidating whether they could be associated with the pathogenesis and progression of PD. MATERIALS/METHODS: Serum levels of retinol, ${\alpha}$- and ${\gamma}$-tocopherols, ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-carotenes, lutein, lycopene, zeaxanthin and ${\beta}$-cryptoxanthin were measured and compared between 104 patients with idiopathic PD and 52 healthy controls matched for age and gender. In order to examine the relationship between antioxidant vitamins and the disease progression, multiple group comparisons were performed among the early PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage I and II, N = 47), advanced PD (stage III and IV, N = 57) and control groups. Separate correlation analyses were performed between the measured antioxidant vitamins and clinical variables, such as Hoehn and Yahr stage and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor score. RESULTS: Compared to controls, PD patients had lower levels of ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-carotenes and lycopene. ${\alpha}$-carotene, ${\beta}$-carotene and lycopene levels were significantly reduced in advanced PD patients relative to early PD patients and were negatively correlated with Hoehn and Yahr stage and UPDRS motor score in PD patients. No significant differences were found in serum levels of retinol, ${\alpha}$- and ${\gamma}$-tocopherols, and other carotenoids between PD patients and controls. No significant correlations were found between these vitamin levels and clinical variables in PD patients. CONCLUSTIONS: We found that serum levels of some carotenoids, ${\alpha}$-carotene, ${\beta}$-carotene and lycopene, were lower in PD patients, and that these carotenoids inversely correlated with clinical variables representing disease progression. Our findings suggest that decreases in serum ${\alpha}$-carotene, ${\beta}$-carotene and lycopene may be associated with the pathogenesis as well as progression of PD.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.428-436
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• 2003

Epidemiological studies have observed a negative association between increased consumption of green and yellow vegetables and cancer incidence. These vegetables contain carotenoids, which are reported to exhibit anticarcinogenic effects. Overexpression of ErbB2 and ErbB3 genes is a frequent event in several human cancers. The present study was performed to determine whether $\alpha$-carotene, $\beta$-carotene, lutein, or lycopene inhibits cell growth and to assess such an effect is related to changes in the levels of the ErbB receptor family and tile ErbB3 receptor signaling pathway in HT-29 cells. HT-29 cells were cultured in serum-free medium in the presence of various concentrations (0~100 $\mu$M) of the individual carotenoids. $\alpha$ -Carotene and lycopene significantly inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, whereas lutein slightly inhibited cell growth and $\beta$-carotene increased cell growth. Lycopene is more potent than $\alpha$ -carotene in inhibiting HT-29 cell growth. Lycopene inhibited DNA synthesis and induced apoptosis of HT-29 cells. The ErbB3 ligand heregulin (HRG) increased cell growth but did not prevent the lycopene-induced inhibition of cell growth. Lycopene decreased ErbB2 protein levels in a dose-dependent manner. Immunoprecipitation/Western blot studies revealed that lycopene inhibited HRG-induced phosphorylation of ErbB3, recruitment of the 985 regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) to the ErbB3 receptor, and phosphorylation of Akt. These results indicate that downregulation of ErbB2/ErbB3/PI3K/Akt signaling may be one of the mechanisms by which lycopene inhibits HT-29 cell pro-liferation and induces apoptosis.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.110-118
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• 2000

One-hundred thirty-six Chinese men and women who are members of the Malaysian Confucian Association from Kuala Lumpur city and suburbs were included in the study. They have been vegetarians for a mean period of about 6 years with the majority of them(91.2%) at lacto/ovo vegetarians. The average age of the male and female subjects in 33 and 34 years respectively. The mean BMI for the men and women are 22.5$\pm$2.4kg/$m^2$ respectively. The mean levels of serum total cholesterol, HDL-chol and LDL-chol for men are 4.27$\pm$0.77, 1,11$\pm$0.26 and 2.60$\pm$0.54mmol/L, while the corresponding values for women are 4.24$\pm$081, 1.34$\pm$0.29 and 2.41$\pm$0.28 mmol/L, All the respondents showed TC/HDL-chol levels within the normal cut-off point of <5.8mmol/L. Majority of the subjects showed normal range levels for serum retinol, carotenoids and $\alpha$-tocopherol. The mean systolic blood pressure for men and women are 122$\pm$16mmHg and 115$\pm$13mmHg, while their diastolic blood pressure are 82$\pm$7mmHg and 79$\pm$7mmHg respectively. Hypertension was found at a higher prevalence in men(17.6%) than among the women(7.1%). None of the respondents smoke cigarettes while approximately two-thirds of them carry out physical exercise at least once a week. their usual dietary intake includes frequent consumption of a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes. In summary, Malaysian vegetarians have a low cardiovascular risk based on their health-oriented lifestyle.