Prooxidant effects of beta-carotene in cultured cells.
There is a growing body of interest on the role of beta-carotene and other carotenoids in human chronic diseases, including cancer. While epidemiological evidence shows that people who ingest more dietary carotenoids exhibit a reduced risk for cancer, results from intervention trials indicate that supplemental beta-carotene enhances lung cancer incidence and mortality among smokers. A possible mechanism which can explain the dual role of beta-carotene as both a beneficial and a harmful agent in cancer as well as in other chronic diseases is its ability in modulating intracellular redox status. beta-Carotene may serve as an antioxidant or as a prooxidant, depending on its intrinsic properties as well as on the redox potential of the biological environment in which it acts. This review summarizes the available evidence for a prooxidant activity of beta-carotene in cultured cells, focusing on biochemical and molecular markers of oxidative stress, which have been reported to be enhanced by the carotenoid.
Institute of General Pathology, Catholic University, L go F. Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy. ibipg@rm.unicatt.it
Paola
P
Palozza
Simona
S
Serini
Fiorella
F
Di Nicuolo
Elisabetta
E
Piccioni
Gabriella
G
Calviello
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006801:Humans; D016877:Oxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000378:metabolism*
D000975:Antioxidants; D015415:Biomarkers; D016877:Oxidants; D019207:beta Carotene