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Carotenoid-Rich Foods Protect Against Oxidative Stress, but Carotenoids Alone Don't Provide Benefit

Consumption of spinach and spinach-tomato puree appears to provide protection against oxidative stress, say Italian researchers.

The carotenoids in these foods alone, however, do not appear to account for the protective effect, but most likely work with other substances in vegetables to assist lymphocyte resistance to oxidative damage.

Nine healthy female volunteers consumed a basal diet consisting of less than 600 µg/day of carotenoids, enriched with daily portions of 150 grams of spinach for three weeks. This provided about 9 mg. lutein, 0.6 mg zeaxanthin, and 4 mg. beta-carotene.

This was followed by a two-week wash-out period with the basal diet, and then another three weeks of diet enriched with daily portions of 150 grams of spinach, plus 25 grams of tomato puree. The latter provided about 7 mg. lycopene, and 0.3 mg beta-carotene.

At the end of each period, blood samples were collected and lymphocytes were separated and analyzed.

The researchers found that DNA resistance to H₂O₂ insult increased significantly after both the enriched diets, but there did not appear to be any added effect from the spinach-plus-tomato puree consumption. There was an inverse correlation between lymphocyte lycopene concentration and DNA damage with the spinach and tomato puree diet, but it does not appear to explain the observed protection.
European Journal of Nutrition, Volume 41 Issue 3 (2002) pp 95-100

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