Comparison of serum carotenoid responses between women consuming vegetablejuice and women consuming raw or cooked vegetables

The objective of this study was to examine serum concentrations of alpha-ca rotene, beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, and beta-cryptoxanthin due to cons umption of vegetable juice versus raw or cooked vegetables. Subjects includ ed female breast cancer patients who had undergone surgical resection and w ho were enrolled in a feasibility study for a trial examining the influence of diet on breast cancer recurrence. A high-vegetable, low-fat diet was th e focus of the intervention, and some of the subjects were specifically enc ouraged to consume vegetable juice, At 12 months, blood samples were collec ted and analyzed for carotenoid concentrations via high-performance liquid chromatography methodology. Matched analysis and paired t test were conduct ed on two groups: those who consumed vegetable juice (the juice group) and those who consumed raw or cooked vegetables (no juice group). Serum concent rations of alpha-carotene and lutein were significantly higher in the veget able juice group than in the raw or cooked vegetable group (P < 0.05 and P = 0.05, respectively). Paired t test analysis did not demonstrate a signifi cant difference in serum values of beta-carotene, lycopene, and beta-crypto xanthin between subjects consuming juice and those not consuming any juice. These results suggest that alpha-carotene and lutein appear to be more bio available in the juice form than in raw or cooked vegetables. Therefore, th e food form consumed may contribute to the variability in serum carotenoid response to vegetable and fruit interventions in clinical studies.