title: Cellular bound beta-carotene quenches singlet oxygen in man.
abstract: It is often postulated that a major role of carotenoids in biology and medicine involves their ability to quench a toxic form of oxygen, known as singlet oxygen, although direct observations of such mechanisms do not exist. Using beta-carotene, bound to lymphocytes taken from human blood, we have used a direct, pulsed laser, physical chemical technique and, separately, a biological method to show a particularly efficient quenching reaction of singlet oxygen by carotene in a cellular environment.
authors.affiliation: Universitatshautklinik, (Charité), Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Böhm
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haley
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Truscott
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schalch
mesh_terms: D002338:Carotenoids / Q000378:metabolism*; D003624:Darkness; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007834:Lasers; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010777:Photochemistry; D012395:Rose Bengal; D026082:Singlet Oxygen; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014343:Trypan Blue; D019207:beta Carotene
chemical_list: D019207:beta Carotene; D026082:Singlet Oxygen; D012395:Rose Bengal; D002338:Carotenoids; D014343:Trypan Blue; D010100:Oxygen