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Provitamin-A (proA) is essentially required for vision in humans but its deficiency affects children and pregnant women especially in the developing world. Biofortified maize rich in proA provides new opportunity for sustainable and cost-effective solution to alleviate malnutrition, however, significant loss of carotenoids during storage reduces its efficacy. Here, we studied the role of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 1 (ccd1) gene on degradation of carotenoids in maize. A set of 24 maize inbreds was analyzed for retention of proA during storage. At harvest, crtRB1-based maize inbreds possessed significantly high proA (β-carotene: 12.30 µg/g, β-cryptoxanthin: 4.36 µg/g) than the traditional inbreds (β-carotene: 1.74 µg/g, β-cryptoxanthin: 1.28 µg/g). However, crtRB1-based inbreds experienced significant degradation of proA carotenoids (β-carotene: 20%, β-cryptoxanthin: 32% retention) following 5 months. Among the crtRB1-based genotypes, V335PV had the lowest retention of proA (β-carotene: 1.63 µg/g, β-cryptoxanthin: 0.82 µg/g), while HKI161PV had the highest retention of proA (β-carotene: 4.17 µg/g, β-cryptoxanthin: 2.32 µg/g). Periodical analysis revealed that ~ 60-70% of proA degraded during the first three months. Expression analysis revealed that high expression of ccd1 led to low retention of proA carotenoids in V335PV, whereas proA retention in HKI161PV was higher due to lower expression. Highest expression of ccd1 was observed during first 3 months of storage. Copy number of ccd1 gene varied among yellow maize (1-6 copies) and white maize (7-35 copies) while wild relatives contained 1-4 copies of ccd1 gene per genome. However, copy number of ccd1 gene did not exhibit any correlation with proA carotenoids. We concluded that lower expression of ccd1 gene increased the retention of proA during storage in maize. Favourable allele of ccd1 can be introgressed into elite maize inbreds for higher retention of proA during storage.

Background The effect of carotenoids on the risk of preeclampsia (PE) is uncertain. We aimed to examine the associations between the intake of dietary carotenoids and related compounds by pregnant women in China, and the risk of their developing PE. Methods Four hundred and forty PE cases and 440 age- (± 3 years), gestational age- (± 1 weeks) and gestational diabetes mellitus status- (yes/no) matched healthy controls were recruited from March 2016 to June 2019. Dietary intake of carotenoids was assessed using a 79-item validated food-frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using conditional logistic regression. Results After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that the intake of total carotenoids, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and lutein and zeaxanthin (lut-zea) were negatively associated with the odds of developing PE. Compared with the lowest quartile intake, the multivariate-adjusted OR (95% CI) of the highest quartile intake was 0.29 (0.16–0.54, Ptrend Ptrend Ptrend = 0.007) for β-cryptoxanthin, 0.55 (0.30–0.99, Ptrend = 0.04) for lycopene and 0.32 (0.17–0.61, Ptrend = 0.001) for lut-zea. However, no significant associations were observed between the risk of developing PE and α-carotene intake (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.41–1.36, Ptrend = 0.28). Moreover, similar negative associations were found for every one-standard-deviation increase in the intake of total carotenoids, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lut-zea. Conclusion These results indicate that a high intake of total carotenoids, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lut-zea may be associated with a low risk of developing PE.

Most of the maize (Zea mays L.) varieties in developing countries have low content of micronutrients including vitamin A. As a result, people who are largely dependent on cereal-based diets suffer from health challenges due to micronutrient deficiencies. Marker assisted recurrent selection (MARS), which increases the frequency of favorable alleles with advances in selection cycle, could be used to enhance the provitamin A (PVA) content of maize. This study was carried out to determine changes in levels of PVA carotenoids and genetic diversity in two maize synthetics that were subjected to two cycles of MARS. The two populations, known as HGA and HGB, and their advanced selection cycles (C1 and C2) were evaluated at Ibadan in Nigeria. Selection increased the concentrations of β-carotene, PVA and total carotenoids across cycles in HGA, while in HGB only α-carotene increased with advances in selection cycle. β-cryptoxanthine increased at C1 but decreased at C2 in HGB. The levels of β-carotene, PVA, and total carotenoids increased by 40%, 30% and 36% respectively, in HGA after two cycles of selection. α-carotene and β-cryptoxanthine content improved by 20% and 5%, respectively after two cycles of selection in HGB. MARS caused changes in genetic diversity over selection cycles. Number of effective alleles and observed heterozygosity decreased with selection cycles, while expected heterozygosity increased at C1 and decreased at C2 in HGA. In HGB, number of effective alleles, observed and expected heterozygosity increased at C1 and decreased at C2. In both populations, fixation index increased after two cycle of selections. The greatest part of the genetic variability resides within the population accounting for 86% of the total genetic variance. In general, MARS effectively improved PVA carotenoid content. However, genetic diversity in the two synthetics declined after two cycles of selection.

Biofortified maize, designed as an intervention strategy to prevent vitamin A deficiency, can provide upwards of 15 μg β-carotene per g dry weight. Some varieties also have elevated concentrations of other carotenoids. We conducted a cluster randomized, controlled feeding trial in rural Zambia to test the impact of daily consumption of biofortified maize over a 6-month period on vitamin A status. Serum concentrations of retinol and carotenoids were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Data on circulating carotenoids by intervention group in 679 children are reported here. As previously shown, consumption of this β-carotene-rich maize significantly improved serum β-carotene concentrations (0.273 vs. 0.147 μmol/L, p

s Background Excessive hepatic fat is associated with increased metabolic risk factors, production of inflammatory factors, and oxidative stress. High protein intake might trigger an increased hepatic lipid oxidation through an increase in hepatic energy expenditure. Furthermore, the majority of randomized controlled trials (RCT) in humans have failed to show whether carotenoids can be used to prevent and treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, it is notable and contradictory that NAFLD is rapidly escalating in Iran and other countries with lower intakes of fruit and vegetables (as sources of β-cryptoxanthin [β-CX] and carbohydrates) and higher intake of carbohydrates (as an agent of NAFLD); and the effects of β-CX and a high protein diet (HPD) on NAFLD need to be investigated further. Methods/design This study will be conducted as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial for 12 weeks to receive daily β-CX 6 mg supplementation combined with a HPD on levels of metabolic factors, β-CX, glycemic and lipid profiles, inflammatory factors, adipocytokines, and body composition. Ninety-two eligible patients, aged 18–60 years, of both genders, who are obese and overweight (body mass index [BMI] 25–40 kg/m2) will be randomly assigned to four groups as follow: HPD + placebo; normal protein diet + β-CX (NPD + β-CX); HPD + β-CX; and NPD + placebo (control group). Two populations will be analyzed in this work. The intention-to-treat (ITT) population includes all patients who will be randomized, while the per-protocol (PP) population includes all individuals who complete the 12- week intervention (i.e. study completers). Discussion Our findings from this trial will contribute to the knowledge of the relationship between β-CX supplementation and a HPD on NAFLD patients and determination of optimal macronutrient ratios without energy restriction. Trial registration Iran clinical trials registry, IRCT2017060210181N10. Registered on 20 June 2017. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-3014-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This cross-sectional study has been performed to investigate the relationship between serum carotenoids and bone mineral density (BMD) in Chinese population. We found that women with higher serum β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, or α-carotene exhibited higher BMD at various bone sites. Similar association was observed between α-carotene and BMD in men. Carotenoids may positively regulate bone metabolism through their antioxidant properties; however, few studies have examined the relation between serum carotenoids and bone health. We aimed to determine the associations between the serum concentration of several carotenoid subclasses and BMD in a Chinese population. This study was a community-based cross-sectional study. We measured 1898 women and 933 men aged 59.6 years who completed serum β-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin + lutein, lycopene, and α-carotene concentration analyses and BMD assessments. Serum individual carotenoids were assessed by the methods of reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was applied to determine BMD at whole body, lumbar spine, total hip, femur neck, and trochanter. ANCOVA was used to examine the correlations between categorized individual carotenoids and BMD at measured sites. After adjusting for potential covariates, a monotonic dose–response positive correlation between circulating levels of β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and α-carotene and BMD at various skeletal sites was observed in women. Women in the top (vs. bottom) quartiles of serum β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, or α-carotene exhibited 1.8–2.3, 1.5–2.0, or 1.3–2.7 % higher BMD at the bone sites with significant results (P-trend