β-carotene in Obesity Research: Technical Considerations and Current Status of the Field

Abstract

Over the past decades, obesity has become a rising health problem as the accessibility to high calorie, low nutritional value food has increased. Research shows that some bioactive components in fruits and vegetables, such as carotenoids, could contribute to the prevention and treatment of obesity. Some of these carotenoids are responsible for vitamin A production, a hormone-like vitamin with pleiotropic effects in mammals. Among these effects, vitamin A is a potent regulator of adipose tissue development, and is therefore important for obesity. This review focuses on the role of the provitamin A carotenoid β-carotene in human health, emphasizing the mechanisms by which this compound and its derivatives regulate adipocyte biology. It also discusses the physiological relevance of carotenoid accumulation, the implication of the carotenoid-cleaving enzymes, and the technical difficulties and considerations researchers must take when working with these bioactive molecules. Thanks to the broad spectrum of functions carotenoids have in modern nutrition and health, it is necessary to understand their benefits regarding to metabolic diseases such as obesity in order to evaluate their applicability to the medical and pharmaceutical fields.

β-Carotene conversion to vitamin A delays atherosclerosis progression by decreasing hepatic lipid secretion in mice

“…These results are in agreement with the effects that direct retinoic acid exposure has on the reduction of hepatic lipid secretion (Figure 4). These results align with the role of retinoic acid and carotenoids in obesity and ASCVD (7,52), including fatty acid oxidation in hepatocytes and other cell types (53)(54)(55)(56)(57). Most of the effects of retinoic acid are derived from its role as a nuclear receptor activator, which could explain our results on hepatic lipoprotein secretion (Figure 4).…”

“…Our RNA sequencing data in plaque myeloid cells showed a decrease in Cyp26a1 expression in BCO1-deficient plaque cells in comparison to wild-type cells ( Figure 5H). We observed these results in the presence of circulating β-carotene, which is the substrate of BCO1 and the precursor of vitamin A and retinoic acid (Supplemental Figure S2C) (52).…”

Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress in Children: Influence of Puberty and Metabolically Unhealthy Status

“…Moreover, a physical activity program was also able to lower endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress markers in adolescents with metabolic syndrome [65]. However, whereas in animal models, β-carotene supplementation has been shown to reduce obesity, by leading to downregulation of adipogenic genes [66], randomized control trials have not proven the usefulness of β-carotene supplementation in the prevention of metabolic syndrome. Nevertheless, children with obesity lost weight after being supplemented with a carotenoid mixture [67], while lycopene, a non-provitamin-A carotenoid, has been shown to reduce BP and oxidative stress biomarkers in adults [68].…”

Genes and Eating Preferences, Their Roles in Personalized Nutrition

“…The BCMO1 gene encodes β-Carotene Oxygenaze1, which is a key enzyme in the breakdown of beta-carotene to vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for the body, as it is one of the main nutrients involved in the lipid metabolism regulation, control of adipocyte differentiation and lipid tissue exchange [50]. Rs7501331 (Figure 15), rs12934922 ( Figure 16) and rs119478057 ( Figure 17) cause a decrease in the enzyme synthesis rate, which leads to a deterioration in the vitamin A digestibility [51].…”