EFFECTS OF SHORT-TERM CAROTENOID-CONTAINING MULTIVITAMIN DIET SUPPLEMENTATION ON VASCULAR HEALTH IN YOUNG ADULTS.

Carotenoids have been shown to be efficient free-radical scavengers with controversial impact on metabolic disorders and cardiovascular health as diet supplements. This study aimed at assessing therapeutic impact of short-term (3-month) carotenoid-based diet supplement on cardiovascular health. Fifteen healthy young adult males divided into two groups according to the ratio of serum triglyceride (TC) to serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL): Group 1 (TC/HDL ratio>4.1, n=7) and Group 2 (TC/HDL ratio =4.1, n=8) underwent demographic, anthropometric, serum biochemical, skin carotenoid count (SCC), pulse-wave velocity (PWV), dilatation index (DI), and heart rate variability (HRV) analyses at baseline and 3 months after diet supplementation. Although the results demonstrated no notable difference in conventional anthropometric and serum biochemical parameters between baseline and 3-month values for both groups, in vivo parameters of SCC and arterial stiffness (PWV) were significantly improved in both groups after 3 months of diet supplementation. Moreover, vascular endothelial function (DI) and physiological status (HRV) showed improvements only in Group 2 after three months. Besides, SCC exhibited significant correlations with waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, HDL, TC/HDL, DI, and PWV. The findings of this preliminary study suggest that short-term carotenoid-based diet supplementation is beneficial to young males for improving vascular health and overall physiological status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]