THE PLASMA BETA-CAROTENE RESPONSE TO A SINGLE MEAL OF CARROTS IN GUATEMALAN SCHOOLCHILDREN

Plasma samples were obtained before, and 8 and 24h after the ingestion of an ad libitum amount of cooked carrots by 23 school children from a peri-urban community in Guatemala City. The single-meal consumption of cooked carrots ranged from a low 122g to a high of 961g (mean: 370. 5 +/- 237.2g; median: 268.4 g). The measured beta-carotene content of the carrots was 10.1 mg per 100 g of edible portion; therefore, the ra nge of intake of beta-carotene was 12.4 to 97.0mg (mean: 37.4 +/-: 24 mg; median: 27.1 mg). Changes in plasma beta-carotene levels at 8 h ra nged from a decrement of -0.32 mu mol/l (-16.98 mu g/dl) to an increme nt of 0.79 mu mol/l (42.44 mu g/dl), with a mean of 0.11 +/- 0.24 mu m ol/l (5.97 +/- 12.82 mu g/dl). Changes at 24h were less dramatic than those at 8 h. A regression of the 8-h changes in plasma beta-carotene on the amount of carrot carotene consumed (corrected by body weight) h ad an r-value of 0.12. Baseline levels of plasma retinol were poor pre dictors of the plasma beta-carotene response with this sample size (r = 0.10). The magnitude of the plasma response to beta-carotene from ca rrots appears to be lower than that observed with pure, powdered, crys talline carotenes; moreover, the variability of the post-carrot respon se seems to be greater - and its association to dosage appears to be w eaker - than with the pharmacological beta-carotene.