LEVELS OF ANTIOXIDANT NUTRIENTS IN PLASMA AND LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS - A HUMAN VOLUNTEER SUPPLEMENTATION STUDY

A human supplementation study was undertaken in order to investigate t he correlation between the intake of individual daily dosages of vitam in E (300 mg), vitamin C (250 mg), or beta-carotene (15 mg) of eight w eek duration and their uptake in vivo in plasma and LDL. The effects o f a combined supplement of vitamin E, vitamin C and beta-carotene (Red oxon protector-75 mg, 150 mg, 15 mg respectively) were also investigat ed. The results show that on supplementation with the individual antio xidants the increases in plasma alpha-tocopherol:cholesterol levels li e in the 1.5-2 fold range and the beta-carotene:cholesterol ratios giv e a mean 3.5 fold enhancement. The combined supplement containing the same level of beta-carotene as the single dosage achieved comparative levels of uptake in plasma. The level of plasma vitamin C appears to b e maximal at about 100 mu M regardless of the pre-supplementation leve l.