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Key research themes
1. How can carotenoid intake be accurately assessed and quantified as biomarkers of fruit and vegetable consumption?
This research area focuses on validating and improving non-invasive, objective biomarkers of carotenoid intake as proxies for fruit and vegetable (VF) consumption to overcome limitations of self-reported dietary methods. Accurate biomarker assessment is critical in nutrition surveillance and intervention evaluation, as carotenoids are important indicators of VF intake linked to health outcomes. The theme emphasizes methodological developments in optical and biochemical quantification of carotenoids in human biological matrices.
Key finding: The study demonstrated that skin carotenoid status measured by resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS) and reflection spectroscopy (RS) correlates significantly with plasma carotenoid concentrations and with multiple 24-h dietary... Read more
Key finding: This validation study found acceptable correlations (Spearman’s rho 0.30 to 0.44) between carotenoid-rich food intake estimated via a web-based food recall and plasma carotenoid concentrations in children and adolescents.... Read more
Key finding: The paper reviews the technology of resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS) and pressure-mediated reflection spectroscopy (RS) as non-invasive tools for detecting carotenoid levels in human skin, providing rapid, non-destructive... Read more
Key finding: While primarily focused on carbohydrate quality, this study emphasizes methodological importance of comprehensive dietary assessment analysis. It informs biomarker research by linking dietary patterns with psychological and... Read more
2. What factors influence carotenoid bioavailability and metabolism, and how do these impact interpretation of carotenoid status as a nutritional biomarker?
This theme centers on intrinsic (e.g., age, genetics, body composition) and extrinsic (e.g., food matrix, processing, dietary fat, environmental exposures) factors modulating carotenoid absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Understanding these factors is essential to correctly interpret carotenoid biomarkers, design effective nutrition interventions, and understand health implications of carotenoid intake.
Key finding: This comprehensive review details how carotenoid bioavailability varies substantially based on food matrix and preparation (extrinsic factors such as lipid co-consumption, food processing), environmental influences (smoking,... Read more
Key finding: This analysis of 193 registered trials reveals that carotenoid bioavailability research increasingly considers variation due to food sources (tomatoes, eggs), carotenoid forms (lutein, lycopene, astaxanthin), and host factors... Read more
Key finding: This study demonstrates that both high intake of carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables and co-consumption of dietary fat are associated with increased plasma carotenoid concentrations, underlining the physiological... Read more
Key finding: This investigation reveals that colorless carotenoids phytoene and phytofluene, often overlooked in food composition databases, are present in significant amounts in common foods and may contribute substantially to total... Read more
3. How do computational tools and chemometric techniques advance the quantification and analysis of carotenoids and other related compounds in dietary and biological matrices?
This area explores the development and application of software, chemometric methods, and spectroscopic techniques that enable high-throughput, accurate, and nuanced quantification of carotenoids in foods and biological tissues. These tools improve the precision of dietary intake assessment and elucidate the complex spectral and compositional data, thus enhancing research on diet-health relationships.
Key finding: The paper presents a Java-based software integrating a highly specific carotenoid food composition database generated by HPLC data, enabling individualized calculation of dietary intake of multiple carotenoids and their... Read more
Key finding: This chapter reviews the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with chemometric methods such as partial least squares regression (PLSR) and principal component analysis (PCA) for non-destructive, rapid... Read more
Key finding: The article discusses the development of optical techniques, notably resonance Raman spectroscopy and pressure-mediated reflectance spectroscopy, for rapid and non-invasive carotenoid quantification in living tissues. It... Read more