THE EFFECT OF A MEDITERRANEAN DIET MODEL ON SERUM BETA-CAROTENE CONCENTRATION. A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT

Background. Some of the main nutritional reasons for recommending a Mediterranean diet is to prevent metabolic diseases arising through free radical formation. A key constituent compound is β-carotene which, amongst the carotenoids, displays the greatest provitamin A activity as well as possessing significant antioxidant properties. Objectives. Principally, to determine the relationship between serum β-carotene levels and the effect of Mediterranean diet guidelines in a selected group of women. Materials and Methods. The subject group consisted of 26 women aged 19-22 years. A nutritional assessment was performed using 3 day repeats of 24-hour recall interviews. A 9-point aMED (alternate Mediterranean Diet) score was used to study dietary habits. Serum β-carotene was measured by liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA). Results. β-carotene dietary intake was highly variable, ranging from 734 to 14476 µg/day (median 3022 µg/day). Serum β-carotene concentration ranged between 0.071-1.905 µmol/L (median 0.519 µmol/L) and was significantly associated with the Mediterranean Diet model (Spearman r=0.633, p<0.001). Out of the dietary sources of β-carotene, consuming carrots had the most significant impact on its serum concentration. Other dietary factors positively affecting serum β-carotene were: consumption of nuts and seeds, pulses, a favourable ratio of mono-unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids and eating fruit and wholegrain cereal products. Conclusions. Adopting a Mediterranean-based diet had a positive effect on increasing serum beta-carotene levels.