High Serum Carotenoid Associated With Increased BMD
A cross-sectional study reveals that high concentration of serum carotenoids is positively correlated to higher bone mineral density (BMD) in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults, especially in women.
In this large study, 1898 women and 933 men aged 50-75 years were recruited and the follow-up study was done after a mean interval of 3.1 years. The individual analysis of serum alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, zeaxanthin, and lutein was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to determine the bone mineral density (BMD) at whole body, lumbar spine, total hip, femur regions (neck and trochanter).
The results demonstrate that high level of alpha-carotene, lycopene and beta-cryptoxanthin are associated with increased BMD at most skeletal sites in women. Additionally, higher alpha-carotene level is significantly associated with higher BMD in total hip and its sub-regions. In fact, when comparing the lowest and highest quartile of alpha-carotene in women, the percentage differences of mean BMD values are 2.3 percent for both total hip and femur neck, 2.7 and 2.4 percent for femur regions (ie: trochanter and intertrochanter respectively). By contrast, in men, only high serum alpha-carotene is significantly associated with increased BMD at all sites except for lumbar spine. And when comparing to the lowest quartile in men, the mean BMDs in the highest quartile of alpha-carotene is 2.6 to 4 percent higher. However, interestingly, serum lutein and zeaxanthin show no significant association with BMD in either sex.
“Women are generally at higher risk of losing bone mass as women have smaller bones compared to men,” said CheeYen Lau, nutritionist at New Jersey-based ExcelVite. “In addition, the level of estrogen (ie: hormone that confers bone protection) in women reduces significantly when they reach menopause. Based on the results, it is suggested that the increased intake of mixed carotenoid with high content of alpha-carotene benefit both women and men, especially women who are more prone to bone mass loss.”
“EVTene is a natural palm mixed carotenoids that contain highest concentration of alpha-carotene among all commercial carotenoids products,” noted Bryan See, regional product manager, ExcelVite. “The high content of alpha-carotene together with a wholesome array of multi carotenoids in EVTene may contribute to strengthening of the bones. Another interesting and unique attribute of EVTene is that its carotenoids composition mirrors that of carrots. No other commercial source of carotene has such multi-carotenoids composition, making EVTene as the only true mixed or multi-carotenoids in the market.”
“EVTene is available in various forms to cater to different applications (e.g. soft gel, capsule, tablet, powdered drink),” See continued. “Hence, it can be combined with other bone protective ingredients to develop a novel combination for bone health.”
For more information, visit www.excelvite.com or www.tocotrienol.org.
