Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

β-Carotene and its physiological metabolites: Effects on oxidative status regulation and genotoxicity in in vitro models

2020; Elsevier BV; Volume: 141; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.fct.2020.111392

1873-6351

Daniela Ribeiro, Adelaide Sousa, Pedro D. M. Nicola, José Miguel P. Ferreira de Oliveira, Ana T. Rufino, Marta Silva, Marisa Freitas, Félix Carvalho, Eduarda Fernandes,

Retinoids in leukemia and cellular processes

Carotenoids are ubiquitously distributed in nature, β-carotene being the most frequently found carotenoid in the human diet. In the human body, β-carotene is absorbed, distributed and metabolized by enzymatic and/or non-enzymatic oxidant cleavage into several metabolites. Despite the broadly accepted biological value of β-carotene, it has also been considered a double-edged sword, mainly due to its potential antioxidant versus pro-oxidant behaviour. In this sense, the aim of this work was to scrutinize the antioxidant or pro-oxidant potential of β-carotene and its metabolites, namely trans-β-apo-8′-carotenal and β-ionone. Several parameters were evaluated in this study, viz. their effects on reactive species production, both in human whole blood and neutrophils; their effects on lipid peroxidation, in the absence and presence of peroxynitrite anion (ONOO−) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), using a synaptosomal model; and finally, their putative genotoxic effects in the human hepatic HepG2 cell line. In general, depending on the cellular model and conditions tested, β-carotene and its metabolites revealed antioxidant effects to varying degrees without significant pro-oxidant or genotoxic effects.