Abstract

Many studies indicate that diets including carotenoid-rich foods have positive effects on human health. Some of these compounds are precursors of the essential nutrient vitamin A. The present work is aimed at implementing a database of carotenoid contents of foods available in the European market. Factors affecting carotenoid content were also discussed. Analytical data available in peer-reviewed scientific literature from 1990 to 2018 and obtained by HPLC/UHPLC were considered. The database includes foods classified according to the FoodEx2 system and will benefit compilers, nutritionists and other professionals in areas related to food and human health. The results show the importance of food characterization to ensure its intercomparability, as large variations in carotenoid levels are observed between species and among varieties/cultivars/landraces. This highlights the significance of integrating nutritional criteria into agricultural choices and of promoting biodiversity. The uncertainty quantification associated with the measurements of the carotenoid content was very rarely evaluated in the literature consulted. According to the EuroFIR data quality evaluation system for food composition tables, the total data quality index mean was 24 in 35, reflecting efforts by researchers in the analytical methods, and less resources in the sampling plan documentation.

Highlights

  • The main dietary sources of carotenoids for humans are in general fruits and vegetables, they are present in other plant products, algae, animal foods, additives or supplements [1].There are many studies indicating that carotenoid-rich diets can have a positive role in human health and contribute to reduce the risk of diseases associated with aging, such as certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, bone, skin or eye disorders and may be beneficial for mental and metabolic health, during pregnancy and early life

  • The references were from Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Crop Science, European Food Research and Technology, Food and Nutrition Research, Food Chemistry, Food Research International, Food Science and Technology International, International Journal of Food Science and Technology, International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Journal of Chromatography A, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, Journal of Food Science, Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment, Journal of Separation Science, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, LWT-Food Science and Technology, Nutrición Hospitalaria, Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, Planta, Postharvest Biology and Technology, Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición, Food and Nutrition Bulletin, Revista do Instituto Adolfo Lutz and Scientia Horticulturae

  • Taking into account the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR) criteria for quality of food composition databases, the results reveal that the data on carotenoids, available in the scientific literature present a greater weakness in terms of the sampling plan and in terms of analytical control

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Summary

Introduction

There are many studies indicating that carotenoid-rich diets can have a positive role in human health and contribute to reduce the risk of diseases associated with aging, such as certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, bone, skin or eye disorders and may be beneficial for mental and metabolic health, during pregnancy and early life. In addition to their role as colorants and bioactive compounds with possible positive effects on human health, some carotenoids have a well-defined role as provitamin A nutrient, being key in combating vitamin A deficiency, especially in areas with low consumption of animal foods [2,3]. The equivalence factors are estimated with large intervals of confidence due to factors that lead to high standard deviations, including large interindividual response, differences in food matrix and processing or analytical errors [12]

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