Nutr Res Pract.  2011 Dec;5(6):540-547.

The effect of carrot juice, beta-carotene supplementation on lymphocyte DNA damage, erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes and plasma lipid profiles in Korean smoker

• Lee HJ
• Park YK
• Kang MH

Abstract

High consumption of fruits and vegetables has been suggested to provide some protection to smokers who are exposed to an increased risk of numerous cancers and other degenerative diseases. Carrot is the most important source of dietary beta-carotene. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate whether carrot juice supplementation to smokers can protect against lymphocyte DNA damage and to compare the effect of supplementation of capsules containing purified beta-carotene or a placebo (simple lactose). The study was conducted in a randomized and placebo-controlled design. After a depletion period of 14 days, 48 smokers were supplemented with either carrot juice (n = 18), purified beta-carotene (n = 16) or placebo (n = 14). Each group was supplemented for 8 weeks with approximately 20.49 mg of beta-carotene/day and 1.2 mg of vitamin C/day, as carrot juice (300 ml/day) or purified beta-carotene (20.49 mg of beta-carotene, 1 capsule/day). Lymphocyte DNA damage was determined using the COMET assay under alkaline conditions and damage was quantified by measuring tail moment (TM), tail length (TL), and% DNA in the tail. Lymphocyte DNA damage was significantly decreased in the carrot juice group in all three measurements. The group that received purified beta-carotene also showed a significant decrease in lymphocyte DNA damage in all three measurements. However, no significant changes in DNA damage was observed for the placebo group except TM (P = 0.016). Erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme was not significantly changed after supplementation. Similarly plasma lipid profiles were not different after carrot juice, beta-carotene and placebo supplementation. These results suggest that while the placebo group failed to show any protective effect, carrot juice containing beta-carotene or purified beta-carotene itself had great antioxidative potential in preventing damage to lymphocyte DNA in smokers.

Keyword

Carrot juice; beta-carotene; supplementation; DNA damage; smokers

MeSH Terms

beta Carotene
Capsules
Comet Assay
Daucus carota
DNA
DNA Damage
Erythrocytes
Fruit
Lymphocytes
Plasma
Vegetables
Vitamins
Capsules
DNA
Vitamins
beta Carotene

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Changes in the degree of lymphocyte DNA damage expressed as Tail moment before and after supplementation for 8wks. Significantly different from week 0 and week 8, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001

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  Fig. 2 Changes in the degree of lymphocyte DNA damage expressed as DNA in tail (%) before and after supplementation for 8wks. Significantly different from week 0 and week 8, ***P < 0.001

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  Fig. 3 Changes in the degree of lymphocyte DNA damage expressed as Tail length (um) before and after supplementation for 8wks. Significantly different from week 0 and week 8, ***P < 0.001

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