Abstract
Vitamin A is essential for life in all vertebrate animals. Vitamin A requirement can be met from dietary preformed vitamin A or provitamin A carotenoids, the most important of which is β-carotene. The metabolism of β-carotene, including its intestinal absorption, accumulation in tissues, and conversion to vitamin A, varies widely across animal species and determines the role that β-carotene plays in meeting vitamin A requirement. This review begins with a brief discussion of vitamin A, with an emphasis on species differences in metabolism. A more detailed discussion of β-carotene follows, with a focus on factors impacting bioavailability and its conversion to vitamin A. Finally, the literature on how animals utilize β-carotene is reviewed individually for several species and classes of animals. We conclude that β-carotene conversion to vitamin A is variable and dependent on a number of factors, which are important to consider in the formulation and assessment of diets. Omnivores and herbivores are more efficient at converting β-carotene to vitamin A than carnivores. Absorption and accumulation of β-carotene in tissues vary with species and are poorly understood. More comparative and mechanistic studies are required in this area to improve the understanding of β-carotene metabolism.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 7393620 |
| Journal | The Scientific World Journal |
| Volume | 2016 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2016 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Environmental Science(all)
Cite this
Meeting the Vitamin A Requirement : The Efficacy and Importance of β -Carotene in Animal Species. / Green, Alice S.; Fascetti, Andrea J.
In: The Scientific World Journal, Vol. 2016, 7393620, 2016.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Meeting the Vitamin A Requirement
T2 - The Efficacy and Importance of β -Carotene in Animal Species
AU - Green, Alice S.
AU - Fascetti, Andrea J
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Vitamin A is essential for life in all vertebrate animals. Vitamin A requirement can be met from dietary preformed vitamin A or provitamin A carotenoids, the most important of which is β-carotene. The metabolism of β-carotene, including its intestinal absorption, accumulation in tissues, and conversion to vitamin A, varies widely across animal species and determines the role that β-carotene plays in meeting vitamin A requirement. This review begins with a brief discussion of vitamin A, with an emphasis on species differences in metabolism. A more detailed discussion of β-carotene follows, with a focus on factors impacting bioavailability and its conversion to vitamin A. Finally, the literature on how animals utilize β-carotene is reviewed individually for several species and classes of animals. We conclude that β-carotene conversion to vitamin A is variable and dependent on a number of factors, which are important to consider in the formulation and assessment of diets. Omnivores and herbivores are more efficient at converting β-carotene to vitamin A than carnivores. Absorption and accumulation of β-carotene in tissues vary with species and are poorly understood. More comparative and mechanistic studies are required in this area to improve the understanding of β-carotene metabolism.
AB - Vitamin A is essential for life in all vertebrate animals. Vitamin A requirement can be met from dietary preformed vitamin A or provitamin A carotenoids, the most important of which is β-carotene. The metabolism of β-carotene, including its intestinal absorption, accumulation in tissues, and conversion to vitamin A, varies widely across animal species and determines the role that β-carotene plays in meeting vitamin A requirement. This review begins with a brief discussion of vitamin A, with an emphasis on species differences in metabolism. A more detailed discussion of β-carotene follows, with a focus on factors impacting bioavailability and its conversion to vitamin A. Finally, the literature on how animals utilize β-carotene is reviewed individually for several species and classes of animals. We conclude that β-carotene conversion to vitamin A is variable and dependent on a number of factors, which are important to consider in the formulation and assessment of diets. Omnivores and herbivores are more efficient at converting β-carotene to vitamin A than carnivores. Absorption and accumulation of β-carotene in tissues vary with species and are poorly understood. More comparative and mechanistic studies are required in this area to improve the understanding of β-carotene metabolism.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994318634&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84994318634&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1155/2016/7393620
DO - 10.1155/2016/7393620
M3 - Article
C2 - 27833936
AN - SCOPUS:84994318634
VL - 2016
JO - The Scientific World Journal
JF - The Scientific World Journal
SN - 2356-6140
M1 - 7393620
ER -