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Use of a 13 C tracer to quantify the plasma appearance of a physiological dose of lutein in humans
Author(s) -
Yao Lihang,
Liang Yuexia,
Trahanovsky Walter S.,
Serfass Robert E.,
White Wendy S.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/s11745-000-0531-0
Subject(s) - lutein , chemistry , xanthophyll , carotenoid , chromatography , isotope ratio mass spectrometry , food science , mass spectrometry
Increased intake of lutein from vegetables promotes increased density of the macular pigment and therefore may protect against age‐related macular degeneration. Our objective was to use a 13 C tracer and high‐precision gas chromatography‐combustion interfaced‐isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC‐C‐IRMS) to investigate metabolism of a lutein dose equivalent to that absorbed from vegetables. Biosynthetic per‐labeled (>99% 13 C) lutein was purified from a commercially available extract of algal biomass. Subjects ( n =4) ingested 3 mg of [ 13 C]lutein with a standardized low‐carotenoid breakfast. Blood samples were collected at baseline and then hourly for 12 h; additional blood samples were drawn at 16, 24, 48, 72, 96, 192, 360, and 528 h. To produce perhydro‐β‐carotene suitable for analysis by GC‐C‐IRMS, the plasma lutein fraction was hydrogenated on palladium‐on‐carbon catalyst with acid‐catalyzed hydrogenolysis. The stable carbon isotope ( 13 C/ 12 C) ratio measured by GC‐C‐IRMS was used to calculate the plasma concentration of [ 13 C]lutein. There was a rapid increase in [ 13 C]lutein in plasma until peak enrichment at 16 h followed by a decline to the next measurement at 24 h. At 528 h, small changes in 13 C enrichment from baseline could still be measured in plasma lutein. High‐precision GC‐C‐IRMS enables complete definition of the appearance and disappearance of [ 13 C]lutein in plasma after ingestion of a dose similar to that absorbed from foods.