Title
Fruits and vegetables increase plasma carotenoids and vitamins and decrease homocysteine in humans
Author
Broekmans, W.M.R.
Klöpping-Ketelaars, I.A.A.
Schuurman, C.R.W.C.
Verhagen, H.
van den Berg, H.
Kok, F.J.
van Poppel, G.
TNO Voeding
Publication year
2000
Abstract
Observational epidemiologic studies have shown that a high consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with a decreased risk of chronic diseases. Little is known about the bioavailability of constituents from vegetables and fruits and the effect of these constituents on markers for disease risk. Currently, the recommendation is to increase intake of a mix of fruits and vegetables ('five a day'). We investigated the effect of this recommendation on plasma carotenoids, vitamins and homocysteine concentrations in a 4-wk dietary controlled, parallel intervention study. Male and female volunteers (n = 47) were allocated randomly to either a daily 500-g fruit and vegetable ('high') diet or a 100-g fruit and vegetable ('low') diet. Analyzed total carotenoid, vitamin C and folate concentrations of the daily high diet were 13.3 mg, 173 mg and 228.1 μg, respectively. The daily low diet contained 2.9 mg carotenoids, 65 mg vitamin C and 131.1 μg folate. Differences in final plasma levels between the high and low group were as follows: lutein, 46% [95% confidence interval (CI) 28-64]; β- cryptoxanthin, 128% (98-159); lycopene, 22% (8-37); α-carotene, 121% (94- 149); β-carotene, 45% (28-62); and vitamin C, 64% (51-77) (P < 0.05). The high group had an 11% (-18 to -4) lower final plasma homocysteine and a 15% (0.8-30) higher plasma folate concentration compared with the low group (P < 0.05). This is the first trial to show that a mix of fruits and vegetables, with a moderate folate content, decreases plasma homocysteine concentrations in humans.
Subject
Nutrition
Carotenoids
Fruits
Homocysteine
Humans
Vegetables
Vitamins
alpha carotene
ascorbic acid
beta carotene
carotenoid
folic acid
homocysteine
lycopene
vitamin
xanthophyll
adult
article
bioavailability
cardiovascular disease
clinical article
clinical trial
controlled clinical trial
controlled study
diet
female
food intake
fruit
human
male
single blind procedure
vegetable
Adult
Blood Pressure
Body Mass Index
Body Weight
Carotenoids
Cholesterol
Diet
Female
Fruit
Homocysteine
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Random Allocation
Vegetables
Vitamins
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TNO identifier
235593
ISSN
0022-3166
Source
Journal of Nutrition, 130 (6), 1578-1583
Document type
article