title: Serum antioxidant vitamin levels of people in Khon Kaen, northeastern Thailand.
abstract: Three antioxidant vitamins, the alpha- and beta-carotenes as well as vitamin E, were measured in sera of a normal population in Northeastern Thailand using HPLC. The mean serum beta-carotene level of females was significantly higher than the value for males, i.e, 37.55 (95%CI=34.59-40.51) versus 32.97 (95% CI=30.01-35.93) micro/dl. The beta-carotene level tended to decrease as age increased, particularly in the male population. The mean serum beta-carotene level was also higher in females than in males, i.e., 7.08 (95%CI=6.57-7.59) and 6.26 (95% CI=5.77-6.75) micro/dl, respectively. The average serum alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E) level of the whole population was 1.08 (95% CI=1.04-1.12) micro/dl and did not show age or sex differences. In general, the serum antioxidant vitamins of smokers were lower than those of the non-smokers but a significant difference was observed only for alpha-tocopherol. Alcohol drinking resulted in slightly lower serum beta-carotene values, whereas coffee or tea drinking and betel nut chewing did not cause any differences with these three antioxidant vitamins. However, we report higher in serum beta-carotene levels of people in Ban Fang district than in Chonnabot district. The results from our study give the base line data of serum antioxidant vitamins in a Thai population and also suggest future intensive study on the relationship of dietary intake and cancer prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Khon Kean University, Khon Kaen, Thailand. bungorn@kku.ac.th
authors.forename: Bungorn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sripanidkulchai
authors.forename: Suthep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vaikrutta
authors.forename: Supannee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sriamporn
authors.forename: Patravoot
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vatanasapt
authors.forename: Kittisak
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sripanidkulchai
authors.forename: Wanna
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sirisangtrakul
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis*; D001114:Areca; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000097:blood*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003069:Coffee; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012907:Smoking / Q000097:blood; D013662:Tea; D013785:Thailand; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000097:blood*; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D003069:Coffee; D013662:Tea; D019207:beta Carotene; D002338:Carotenoids; C041635:alpha-carotene; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol