Active enzyme unlocks full benefits of carrots, finds study

Washington [US], December 13 (ANI): While people are aware of carrot as a good source of beta-carotene, which is a precursor of vitamin A.

However, the findings of a novel study suggest that to get the full health benefits of this superfood, one needs an active enzyme to produce this vitamin. Beta-carotene is the bioactive compound that gives carrots their orange colour. Studies with humans and mice show the conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A reduces “bad” cholesterol in the blood.

Thus, beta-carotene can help protect against atherosclerosis development, which leads to the accumulation of fats and cholesterol in our arteries. Atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease is the primary cause of death worldwide, says Jaume Amengual, assistant professor of personalized nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois.

Amengual and his colleagues conducted two studies to further understand the effects of beta-carotene on cardiovascular health. They confirmed its importance but identified a critical step in the process. Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A with the help of an enzyme called beta-carotene oxygenase 1 (BCO1). A genetic variation determines if you have a more or less active version of BCO1. People with a less active enzyme could need other sources for vitamin A in their diet, Amengual says.

The first study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, analyzed blood and DNA samples from 767 healthy young adults aged 18 to 25. As expected the researchers found a correlation between BCO1 activity and bad cholesterol level.

“People who had a genetic variant associated with making the enzyme BCO1 more active had lower cholesterol in their blood.

That was our first observation,” Amengual notes. To follow up on these findings, Amengual and his colleagues conducted a second study, published in the Journal of Lipid Research, using mice.

Source: ANI