title: Plasma alpha-tocopherol, retinol, and carotenoids in children with falciparum malaria.
abstract: Cross-sectional interactions by malaria status were investigated between plasma alpha-tocopherol, retinol, and several carotenoids (lutein, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and alpha- and beta-carotene) and indicators of disease severity (blood parasite count, hemoglobin concentration), acute-phase response (plasma albumin and ceruloplasmin concentrations), hepatic involvement (plasma alanine aminotransferase), oxidant status and antioxidant status (plasma thiobarbituric acid-reactive material and ascorbate), nutritional (weight-for-age) and carrier protein [retinol binding protein (RBP)] status, and cholesterol concentration (as a proxy for lipoprotein) in 100 consecutively admitted children with malaria. There were 50 children with severe and 50 with mild malaria and 50 age- and sex-matched control subjects. alpha-Tocopherol, retinol, and all the carotenoid concentrations were lower in the patients than in the control subjects (P < 0.001). The differences were greater in severe than in mild malaria, except for lutein. In severe malaria only, both retinol and alpha-tocopherol correlated with albumin, ceruloplasmin, and RBP concentrations whereas in all three groups retinol correlated with RBP and alpha-tocopherol correlated with cholesterol (all P < 0.01)). Using multivariate analysis on data from all patients combined, cholesterol was the most significant factor explaining the variance in alpha-tocopherol (29%) whereas RBP was responsible for 95% of the variance in retinol. Plasma cholesterol and RBP values in turn (in the absence of alpha-tocopherol and retinol, respectively) were influenced primarily by acute-phase markers (mainly albumin and ceruloplasmin). Alanine aminotransferase (r = -0.17) and thiobarbituric acid-reactive material (r = -0.17) also showed a small contribution to the variance of RBP but 60-70% remained unexplained. In conclusion, low plasma lipid-soluble micronutrient concentrations in malaria are strongly influenced by the reductions in their carrier molecules, which, in turn, are low as a consequence of the acute-phase response.
authors.affiliation: Ispat General Hospital, Rourkela, Orissa, India.
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Thurnham
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D002338:Carotenoids / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D065366:Cryptoxanthins; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D000077276:Lycopene; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000150:complications; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood*; D024341:Xanthophylls; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
chemical_list: D065366:Cryptoxanthins; D024341:Xanthophylls; D019207:beta Carotene; D014801:Vitamin A; D014810:Vitamin E; D002338:Carotenoids; C041635:alpha-carotene; D002784:Cholesterol; D000077276:Lycopene