Beta-Carotene: Food Sources, Vitamin A Conversion & Human Research

Fruit & Health › Fruit Compound Library › Carotenoids › Beta-Carotene

FruitFast Compound Guide

Beta-carotene is a naturally occurring orange-yellow plant pigment belonging to the carotene branch of the carotenoid family.

Its best-established nutritional role is as a provitamin A carotenoid. Human enzymes can convert absorbed beta-carotene into retinal, which can then participate in vitamin A metabolism.

Beta-carotene occurs in carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, leafy green vegetables, mangoes, apricots, cantaloupe, and numerous other plant foods.

But the relationship between beta-carotene in food and vitamin A nutrition is not a simple one-to-one conversion. Food structure, processing, dietary fat, dose, vitamin A status, digestive physiology, and genetic differences can all influence absorption and conversion.

Beta-carotene also provides one of the most important lessons in nutrition research: beta-carotene naturally present in fruits and vegetables is not equivalent to taking a high-dose isolated beta-carotene supplement. Large clinical trials in smokers and other high-risk populations found harm from high-dose supplementation.

The Short Answer

Beta-carotene is a plant carotenoid that the human body can convert into vitamin A.

It is found especially in orange, yellow, and dark green plant foods, including carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, mangoes, apricots, cantaloupe, and leafy vegetables.

Beta-carotene itself is not preformed vitamin A. Conversion requires digestion, absorption, and enzymatic cleavage, and the efficiency varies considerably among foods and individuals.

U.S. dietary calculations estimate that 12 micrograms of dietary beta-carotene equals 1 microgram retinol activity equivalent, or RAE. Supplemental beta-carotene in oil is assigned a different conversion factor because it is generally more bioavailable.

High-dose beta-carotene supplements should also be distinguished from food. Trials using 20–30 mg/day in smokers and other high-risk populations found increased lung-cancer risk.

What Is Beta-Carotene?

Beta-carotene is a fat-soluble pigment belonging to the larger family of carotenoids.

More specifically, it is a carotene, meaning its molecular structure is composed primarily of carbon and hydrogen and does not contain the oxygen-containing groups that characterize xanthophylls.

Beta-carotene contributes yellow and orange pigmentation to many plant foods.

However, visible color is not a reliable beta-carotene test.

For example, dark leafy vegetables can contain substantial beta-carotene even though their orange-yellow carotenoid colors are masked by chlorophyll.

Similarly, an orange fruit can contain several pigments besides beta-carotene.

Is Beta-Carotene a Vitamin?

No.

Beta-carotene is a provitamin A carotenoid, not vitamin A itself.

The distinction is important.

Vitamin A includes biologically active retinoid compounds such as:

• retinol;
• retinal;
• retinoic acid; and
• retinyl esters.

Beta-carotene can serve as a dietary precursor from which the body produces vitamin A-related compounds.

That is why the term provitamin A is used.

How Does Beta-Carotene Become Vitamin A?

After beta-carotene is released from food and absorbed by intestinal cells, an important enzyme called beta-carotene oxygenase 1 can cleave it.

This enzyme is often abbreviated:

• BCO1; or
• BCMO1 in older scientific literature.

BCO1 can centrally cleave beta-carotene to form retinal.

Retinal can be reduced to retinol, esterified for transport or storage, or participate in other retinoid pathways.

The body regulates this conversion rather than converting every molecule of dietary beta-carotene into vitamin A at one fixed rate.

Why Is Vitamin A Important?

Vitamin A is an essential nutrient involved in established physiological functions including:

• normal vision;
• cell growth and differentiation;
• immune physiology;
• reproduction;
• development; and
• maintenance of epithelial tissues.

Beta-carotene can contribute to meeting vitamin A requirements because it is one of the major dietary provitamin A carotenoids.

This established nutritional function is different from broader claims that beta-carotene itself prevents disease.

Beta-Carotene vs. Vitamin A

Because beta-carotene must first be absorbed and converted, a microgram of beta-carotene does not have the same vitamin A activity as a microgram of retinol.

What Does Retinol Activity Equivalent, or RAE, Mean?

Vitamin A recommendations in the United States are expressed as micrograms of retinol activity equivalents, abbreviated mcg RAE.

RAE accounts for differences in biological vitamin A activity among retinol and provitamin A carotenoids.

The different values reflect major differences in absorption and conversion.

Beta-carotene dissolved in oil in a supplement is generally more bioavailable than beta-carotene trapped inside the cellular structure of a raw plant food.

How Efficiently Does Beta-Carotene Convert to Vitamin A?

There is no single biological conversion ratio that accurately describes every food or every person.

Human research using stable isotopes has reported a wide range of beta-carotene-to-retinol conversion efficiencies.

Published human reviews have reported conversion ratios extending from roughly 3.6:1 to 28:1 by weight depending on the beta-carotene source and study conditions.

The U.S. dietary RAE factor of 12:1 for food beta-carotene is therefore a standardized nutritional calculation rather than a claim that every 12 micrograms consumed will literally become exactly 1 microgram of retinol.

Why Do People Convert Beta-Carotene Differently?

Individual differences can be substantial.

Variables affecting beta-carotene metabolism can include:

• genetic variation;
• vitamin A status;
• digestive physiology;
• food matrix;
• dose;
• dietary fat;
• fiber;
• other carotenoids;
• intestinal health;
• body composition; and
• medications that influence fat absorption.

Research has sometimes described people with relatively low beta-carotene conversion as low responders or poor converters.

BCO1 Genetics

Human genetic studies have identified variants in the gene coding for beta-carotene oxygenase 1 that can influence beta-carotene metabolism.

For example, controlled human research in women has found that common BCO1/BCMO1 genetic variants can alter conversion efficiency.

Some variants studied were associated with substantially lower estimated enzymatic conversion activity.

This does not mean a consumer needs genetic testing before eating carotenoid-rich foods.

It does help explain why beta-carotene metabolism differs among individuals and why one universal food-to-vitamin-A conversion ratio is an approximation.

What Foods Contain Beta-Carotene?

Beta-carotene occurs widely in plant foods.

Important sources include:

• carrots;
• sweet potatoes;
• pumpkin;
• winter squash;
• spinach;
• kale and other dark leafy greens;
• mango;
• apricot;
• cantaloupe;
• papaya;
• peaches;
• red peppers; and
• many additional fruits and vegetables.

The amount varies by cultivar, maturity, growing conditions, plant tissue, storage, processing, and analytical method.

What Foods Are Highest in Beta-Carotene?

Orange and dark green vegetables are among the most concentrated common sources.

Foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and certain leafy greens can contain considerably more beta-carotene than many fruits.

This is an important point for FruitFast content.

Mangoes and apricots are legitimate beta-carotene-containing fruits, but it would be inaccurate to imply that fruit juice concentrates are automatically among the richest dietary sources of beta-carotene.

Why Do Green Vegetables Contain Beta-Carotene?

Beta-carotene is yellow-orange, but spinach, kale, and other leafy vegetables can still contain substantial amounts.

That is because green chlorophyll pigments visually dominate the leaf.

The carotenoids remain present underneath the stronger green coloration.

This is another reason visible color cannot be used as a quantitative carotenoid assay.

Beta-Carotene in FruitFast-Relevant Fruits

Several fruits used in FruitFast products occur in the broader beta-carotene and carotenoid literature.

The descriptions below refer to source-fruit chemistry, not measured specifications for FruitFast finished products.

Does Orange Color Mean a Fruit Is High in Beta-Carotene?

No.

Orange, yellow, and red colors can be produced by several pigment families.

Possible contributors include:

• beta-carotene;
• alpha-carotene;
• beta-cryptoxanthin;
• lutein and zeaxanthin;
• other xanthophylls;
• lycopene;
• flavonoid pigments;
• betalains in certain plants; and
• mixtures of several pigments.

A pigment claim therefore requires actual chemical analysis rather than visual inspection.

Beta-Carotene vs. Beta-Cryptoxanthin

Both beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin can contribute to vitamin A nutrition.

But they belong to different carotenoid branches.

Under the U.S. RAE system, dietary beta-carotene is assigned twice the vitamin A activity by weight of dietary beta-cryptoxanthin.

How Is Beta-Carotene Absorbed?

Beta-carotene is fat soluble.

Before it can be absorbed, it must first be:

• released from the food matrix;
• dispersed during digestion;
• incorporated into mixed micelles with bile and dietary lipids; and
• taken up by intestinal cells.

Some absorbed beta-carotene is cleaved to retinal inside intestinal cells.

Some can remain intact and enter the circulation in chylomicrons before later distribution to tissues.

Why Is Beta-Carotene From Food Not Completely Absorbed?

Plant cell structures can physically trap carotenoids.

Beta-carotene bioavailability is therefore strongly influenced by the food matrix.

Factors include:

• whether the food is raw or cooked;
• particle size;
• chewing and mechanical disruption;
• pureeing or homogenization;
• dietary fat;
• fiber;
• carotenoid dose;
• other carotenoids;
• digestive function; and
• individual genetics.

Human reviews report that beta-carotene absorption from plant foods can vary widely.

This explains why the amount chemically present in a food and the amount ultimately absorbed are different measurements.

Does Eating Beta-Carotene With Fat Improve Absorption?

Dietary fat generally helps carotenoid absorption because lipids participate in mixed-micelle formation during digestion.

A modern systematic review and meta-analysis of carotenoid research found that higher amounts of co-consumed dietary fat generally increased carotenoid bioavailability.

The effect depends on:

• type of carotenoid;
• amount of fat;
• type of fatty acid;
• food matrix;
• meal composition; and
• individual physiology.

This does not mean every beta-carotene-containing food needs to be consumed with a large amount of added fat.

It means the complete meal affects carotenoid absorption.

Does Cooking Increase Beta-Carotene Absorption?

Cooking and mechanical processing can sometimes make beta-carotene more bioaccessible by disrupting plant tissues.

Processes such as:

• chopping;
• pureeing;
• homogenization;
• heating; and
• cooking with dietary fat

can change how readily beta-carotene is released during digestion.

However, processing can simultaneously cause chemical changes or degradation.

Therefore, “cooking destroys beta-carotene” and “cooking always increases beta-carotene” are both overly broad statements.

Processing Can Change Concentration and Bioavailability in Different Directions

Two separate questions need to be asked:

• How much beta-carotene remains in the food?
• How accessible is that beta-carotene during digestion?

A processed food could contain somewhat less total beta-carotene yet make a greater proportion of the remaining carotenoid accessible for absorption.

Conversely, poorly controlled heat, oxygen, light, or prolonged storage can contribute to carotenoid degradation.

Are Beta-Carotene Supplements Better Absorbed Than Food?

Purified beta-carotene dissolved in oil is generally more bioavailable than beta-carotene embedded within intact plant-cell structures.

This is reflected directly in the RAE conversion system:

• 2 mcg supplemental beta-carotene = 1 mcg RAE;
• 12 mcg dietary beta-carotene = 1 mcg RAE.

This difference is another reason a high-dose beta-carotene supplement cannot be treated as equivalent to eating beta-carotene-containing fruit or vegetables.

Is Beta-Carotene an Antioxidant?

Beta-carotene participates in antioxidant and redox chemistry under experimental conditions.

It can interact with singlet oxygen and other reactive species in laboratory and biological systems.

However, its behavior depends strongly on:

• concentration;
• oxygen tension;
• membrane environment;
• other antioxidants;
• metabolism; and
• physiological context.

The history of beta-carotene supplementation demonstrates why chemical antioxidant activity should not automatically be translated into disease-prevention claims.

High-dose supplementation did not reproduce the favorable associations that researchers had observed for diets rich in fruits and vegetables.

Learn more in our Antioxidants, Free Radicals & Oxidative Stress guide.

Beta-Carotene Benefits: What Has Human Research Actually Shown?

The phrase “beta-carotene benefits” combines several very different scientific questions.

Research involving beta-carotene includes:

• its established contribution to vitamin A nutrition;
• food absorption and conversion;
• vitamin A deficiency interventions;
• blood carotenoid concentrations;
• high-dose supplementation trials;
• eye-disease supplement formulations;
• cancer-prevention trials;
• cardiovascular research; and
• observational studies of fruit and vegetable intake.

These areas should not be treated as one universal health effect.

Vitamin A Nutrition

The most firmly established nutritional role of beta-carotene is as a source of vitamin A.

This role can be particularly important in dietary patterns in which preformed vitamin A from animal foods is limited.

Human stable-isotope studies demonstrate that beta-carotene from plant foods can be absorbed and converted into retinol.

But conversion efficiency varies by food and individual.

Does Beta-Carotene Improve Vision?

Vitamin A is essential for normal vision, and beta-carotene can contribute to vitamin A nutrition.

That does not mean taking additional beta-carotene improves eyesight in every person whose vitamin A status is already adequate.

The distinction is particularly important when discussing supplements.

Correcting vitamin A inadequacy and giving pharmacological doses of beta-carotene to a well-nourished adult are different interventions.

Beta-Carotene & AREDS

The original Age-Related Eye Disease Study formulation contained:

• beta-carotene;
• vitamin C;
• vitamin E;
• zinc; and
• copper.

The combination was studied in people at elevated risk for progression of age-related macular degeneration.

But beta-carotene was only one ingredient in a multi-nutrient formulation.

Later AREDS2 research found that beta-carotene was not necessary to retain the formulation's benefit and supported replacing it with lutein and zeaxanthin.

The revised formulation also avoids the beta-carotene-associated lung-cancer concern in people with a history of smoking.

For detailed discussion of lutein and zeaxanthin, see our Xanthophylls guide.

A Critical Finding: High-Dose Beta-Carotene & Smokers

Beta-carotene provides one of the most important cautionary examples in modern nutrition science.

Researchers had observed associations between fruit- and vegetable-rich diets and lower rates of several chronic diseases.

Because beta-carotene was common in these foods and demonstrated antioxidant chemistry, researchers tested whether large isolated doses would reproduce those associations.

They did not.

These trials do not demonstrate that carrots, mangoes, apricots, spinach, or other beta-carotene-containing foods increase lung-cancer risk.

They demonstrate that:

a food-associated nutrient ≠ a high-dose isolated supplement.

What Has AREDS2 Added to the Safety Picture?

AREDS2 provides further evidence that beta-carotene supplementation deserves particular caution in people with a smoking history.

Current smokers were not assigned the beta-carotene-containing formulation in AREDS2.

Nevertheless, more lung cancers occurred among participants assigned beta-carotene, with most affected participants being former smokers.

Longer follow-up subsequently found that the odds of lung cancer remained significantly higher among participants originally assigned beta-carotene.

The long-term AREDS2 analysis supported lutein and zeaxanthin as an appropriate replacement for beta-carotene in the eye-disease supplement formulation.

Does Beta-Carotene Prevent Cancer?

High-dose beta-carotene supplementation should not be described as a cancer-prevention strategy.

The most important randomized trials found either no general preventive effect or harm in specific high-risk populations.

Observational associations involving foods rich in carotenoids cannot prove that beta-carotene itself caused the observed relationship because those foods also contain:

• other carotenoids;
• vitamin C;
• polyphenols;
• fiber;
• minerals;
• folate;
• other vitamins; and
• numerous additional compounds.

Does Beta-Carotene Prevent Cardiovascular Disease?

High-dose beta-carotene supplements have not demonstrated a consistent cardiovascular-prevention benefit in randomized clinical trials.

The harmful results in ATBC and CARET are also a reminder that supplement interventions can produce outcomes very different from observational associations involving fruit- and vegetable-rich diets.

Beta-carotene-containing foods can still form part of a balanced diet.

That is different from recommending isolated beta-carotene as a treatment or preventive therapy.

Food Beta-Carotene vs. Beta-Carotene Supplements

Those exposures differ in:

• dose;
• chemical environment;
• food matrix;
• absorption;
• other compounds present; and
• metabolic exposure.

Is Beta-Carotene Safe?

Beta-carotene naturally present in fruits and vegetables has a long history of ordinary dietary consumption.

The safety question changes when beta-carotene is isolated and consumed in high supplemental doses.

The U.S. Food and Nutrition Board has not established a Tolerable Upper Intake Level specifically for beta-carotene.

However, that does not mean unlimited supplementation is risk-free.

High-dose beta-carotene supplements have produced harmful results in current smokers, some former smokers, and asbestos-exposed populations.

People with a history of smoking should be particularly cautious about beta-carotene-containing high-dose supplements and should discuss supplement choices with an appropriate healthcare professional.

Can Beta-Carotene Cause Vitamin A Toxicity?

Beta-carotene differs from preformed vitamin A.

The body regulates conversion of beta-carotene into vitamin A, so ordinary dietary beta-carotene is not generally associated with the classic toxicity produced by excessive preformed retinol or retinyl-esters.

The established Tolerable Upper Intake Level for vitamin A applies to preformed vitamin A, not beta-carotene from foods.

That does not erase the separate high-dose beta-carotene supplement risks demonstrated in smokers and other specific populations.

Why Can Too Much Beta-Carotene Turn Skin Yellow or Orange?

Large, sustained beta-carotene exposure can produce a harmless yellow-orange skin coloration called carotenodermia or carotenemia.

This is caused by carotenoid deposition in the skin.

It is different from jaundice and different from vitamin A toxicity.

Carotenodermia generally fades after carotenoid intake decreases.

Can Beta-Carotene Make You Tan?

Beta-carotene-related skin coloration is not the same biological process as tanning.

A suntan primarily reflects increased melanin production after ultraviolet exposure.

Carotenodermia reflects accumulation of carotenoid pigment in skin tissues.

The two can look somewhat similar in color but arise from different mechanisms.

Does Fruit Juice Concentrate Contain Beta-Carotene?

A juice concentrate made from beta-carotene-containing fruit can contain beta-carotene originating from its starting fruit.

However, beta-carotene is a fat-soluble pigment whose final concentration can be influenced by:

• fruit species;
• cultivar;
• ripeness;
• fruit tissue;
• pressing;
• clarification;
• filtration;
• insoluble solids;
• heat;
• oxygen;
• light exposure;
• concentration conditions;
• storage; and
• analytical method.

Without finished-product analytical testing, FruitFast should not assign a specific beta-carotene concentration or vitamin A RAE value to Mango, Apricot, Peach, or another finished juice concentrate based solely on published raw-fruit composition.

Does Higher Brix Mean More Beta-Carotene?

No.

Brix does not measure beta-carotene.

Brix primarily reflects soluble solids.

Beta-carotene is a specific fat-soluble carotenoid pigment and requires an appropriate compound-specific analytical method.

A higher Brix value therefore does not establish a higher:

• beta-carotene concentration;
• total-carotenoid concentration;
• vitamin A activity;
• lutein concentration;
• lycopene concentration; or
• antioxidant effect.

Does Concentrating Juice Automatically Concentrate Beta-Carotene?

Not in a way that can be predicted accurately from Brix or water removal alone.

During juice production and concentration, carotenoids can be affected by clarification, filtration, insoluble solids, oxidation, isomerization, and storage.

A published raw-fruit value therefore should not simply be multiplied by a concentration factor.

The finished product needs to be analyzed if a quantitative beta-carotene claim is desired.

How Is Beta-Carotene Measured?

Beta-carotene is generally measured using chromatographic analytical techniques.

Methods can include:

• high-performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC;
• ultra-performance liquid chromatography, or UPLC;
• photodiode-array or UV-visible detection;
• liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry; and
• methods designed to separate all-trans and cis beta-carotene isomers.

Sample preparation can also affect results.

Extraction must account for the lipophilic nature of carotenoids, and light, oxygen, temperature, and handling can alter carotenoid stability.

Do Total Carotenoids Tell You How Much Beta-Carotene Is Present?

No.

A total-carotenoid measurement can contain contributions from:

• beta-carotene;
• alpha-carotene;
• lycopene;
• lutein;
• zeaxanthin;
• beta-cryptoxanthin;
• violaxanthin;
• neoxanthin; and
• other carotenoids.

Therefore:

• total carotenoids are not beta-carotene;
• orange color is not beta-carotene;
• total antioxidant capacity is not beta-carotene; and
• Brix is not beta-carotene.

Frequently Asked Questions About Beta-Carotene

How to Evaluate Beta-Carotene Research

When reading a beta-carotene study, first determine what researchers actually tested.

The intervention might be:

• beta-carotene naturally present in vegetables;
• beta-carotene from fruit;
• purified beta-carotene in oil;
• a multivitamin;
• beta-carotene combined with preformed vitamin A;
• an AREDS-style multi-nutrient supplement;
• a whole-food dietary pattern;
• a laboratory experiment; or
• an animal model.

Those are not equivalent exposures.

Important questions include:

• Source — Food or isolated supplement?
• Dose — Micrograms from food or tens of milligrams from a supplement?
• Food matrix — Raw vegetable, cooked food, fruit, juice, puree, or oil?
• Dietary fat — What was eaten with the carotenoid?
• Vitamin A status — Was the population deficient or already adequate?
• Genetics — Could BCO1 variation influence conversion?
• Population — Healthy adults, children, smokers, former smokers, or asbestos-exposed workers?
• Other ingredients — Was beta-carotene given alone or with retinol, vitamin E, zinc, or other nutrients?
• Outcome — Plasma beta-carotene, vitamin A status, biomarker, vision measure, cancer incidence, or mortality?

Detecting beta-carotene in blood, improving vitamin A status, changing an antioxidant assay, and preventing a clinical disease represent very different levels of evidence.

FruitFast Fruits Connected to Beta-Carotene Chemistry

FruitFast offers concentrates made from several fruits that occur in the broader beta-carotene and carotenoid literature, including mango, apricot, peach, and other colorful fruits.

These links are provided because the source fruits are chemically relevant—not as claims that a finished FruitFast product contains a particular quantified amount of beta-carotene or qualifies for a vitamin A nutrient-content claim.

Explore Fruit Juice Concentrates →
Finished-product beta-carotene and vitamin A values should be based on appropriate product-specific analytical information rather than inferred from raw-fruit values, visible color, concentration ratio, or Brix.

Continue Exploring Carotenoids & Fruit Nutrition

Carotenoids →
Explore the parent family containing beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin.

Xanthophylls →
Compare beta-carotene with oxygen-containing carotenoids such as lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin.

Vitamin C →
Explore another important fruit nutrient and how its absorption, stability, and nutritional roles differ from beta-carotene.

Antioxidants, Free Radicals & Oxidative Stress →
Understand why laboratory antioxidant chemistry does not automatically predict human disease outcomes.

Phytonutrients & Phytochemicals →
Learn how carotenoids fit within the broader world of naturally occurring plant compounds.

Fruit Compound Library →
Browse FruitFast educational guides to carotenoids, vitamins, polyphenols, tannins, pigments, and other naturally occurring compounds.

Health Information & Fruit Nutrition Research →
Explore FruitFast educational resources covering fruit chemistry, nutrition, scientific research, and evidence interpretation.

Scientific References & Sources

The publications and authoritative resources below are provided so readers can examine beta-carotene chemistry, food sources, vitamin A conversion, absorption, genetics, processing, supplementation, and human safety research. Findings involving food beta-carotene, isolated supplements, multinutrient formulations, biomarkers, or specific high-risk populations should not automatically be applied to another exposure or FruitFast product.

1. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin A and Carotenoids: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

2. Grune T, Lietz G, Palou A, Ross AC, Stahl W, Tang G, Thurnham D, Yin SA, Biesalski HK. Beta-carotene is an important vitamin A source for humans. Journal of Nutrition. 2010;140(12):2268S-2285S. doi:10.3945/jn.109.119024. PMID: 20980645.

3. Tang G. Bioconversion of dietary provitamin A carotenoids to vitamin A in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2010;91(5):1468S-1473S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2010.28674G. PMID: 20200262.

4. Van Loo-Bouwman CA, Naber THJ, Schaafsma G. A review of vitamin A equivalency of β-carotene in various food matrices for human consumption. British Journal of Nutrition. 2014;111(12):2153-2166. doi:10.1017/S0007114514000166. PMID: 24513222.

5. Leung WC, Hessel S, Méplan C, Flint J, Oberhauser V, Tourniaire F, Hesketh JE, von Lintig J, Lietz G. Two common single nucleotide polymorphisms in the gene encoding beta-carotene 15,15′-monooxygenase alter beta-carotene metabolism in female volunteers. FASEB Journal. 2009;23(4):1041-1053. doi:10.1096/fj.08-121962. PMID: 19103647.

6. Lietz G, Oxley A, Boesch-Saadatmandi C, Kobayashi D. Importance of β,β-carotene 15,15′-monooxygenase 1 (BCMO1) and β,β-carotene 9′,10′-dioxygenase 2 (BCDO2) in nutrition and health. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. 2012;56(2):241-250. doi:10.1002/mnfr.201100387. PMID: 22147584.

7. Maurya VK, Singh J, Ranjan V, Gothandam KM, Bohn T, Pareek S. Factors affecting the fate of β-carotene in the human gastrointestinal tract: A narrative review. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research. 2022;92(5-6):385-405. doi:10.1024/0300-9831/a000674. PMID: 32781911.

8. Yao Y, Tan P, Kim JE. Effects of dietary fats on the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of carotenoids: a systematic review and meta-analysis of in vitro studies and randomized controlled trials. Nutrition Reviews. 2022;80(4):741-761. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuab098. PMID: 34897461.

9. Saini RK, Nile SH, Park SW. Carotenoids from fruits and vegetables: Chemistry, analysis, occurrence, bioavailability and biological activities. Food Research International. 2015;76(Pt 3):735-750. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2015.07.047. PMID: 28455059.

10. Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta Carotene Cancer Prevention Study Group. The effect of vitamin E and beta carotene on the incidence of lung cancer and other cancers in male smokers. New England Journal of Medicine. 1994;330(15):1029-1035. doi:10.1056/NEJM199404143301501. PMID: 8127329.

11. Omenn GS, Goodman GE, Thornquist MD, et al. Effects of a combination of beta carotene and vitamin A on lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 1996;334(18):1150-1155. doi:10.1056/NEJM199605023341802. PMID: 8602180.

12. Chew EY, Clemons TE, Agrón E, et al.; AREDS2 Research Group. Long-term Outcomes of Adding Lutein/Zeaxanthin and ω-3 Fatty Acids to the AREDS Supplements on Age-Related Macular Degeneration Progression: AREDS2 Report 28. JAMA Ophthalmology. 2022;140(7):692-698. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2022.1640. PMID: 35653117.

13. Meléndez-Martínez AJ, Esquivel P, Rodriguez-Amaya DB. Comprehensive review on carotenoid composition: Transformations during processing and storage of foods. Food Research International. 2023;169:112773. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112773. PMID: 37254377.

About This Guide

This page is provided for general educational purposes. Research involving beta-carotene, vitamin A, purified supplements, whole foods, juices, concentrates, carotenoid metabolites, biomarkers, multinutrient formulations, laboratory models, smokers, former smokers, asbestos-exposed populations, or other specific groups should not be assumed to establish the same effect for another food, product, or individual.

References to beta-carotene found in mangoes, apricots, peaches, or other fruits describe compounds reported in the fruit or preparation actually studied and should not be interpreted as quantitative claims about a FruitFast finished product unless that finished product has appropriate supporting analytical data.

High-dose beta-carotene supplementation research should not be interpreted as evidence about normal consumption of beta-carotene-containing fruits and vegetables, and food research should not be used to imply that concentrated beta-carotene supplements have the same safety profile as foods.

Established provitamin A activity should not be interpreted as a claim that a FruitFast product prevents or treats vitamin A deficiency, eye disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, immune disorders, or another medical condition.

This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease and should not be interpreted as medical advice.