title: Comparative study of β-carotene and microencapsulated β-carotene: evaluation of their genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects.
abstract: β-Carotene (BC) is one of the natural pigments that is most commonly added to food; however, the utilization of BC is limited due to its instability. Microencapsulation techniques are commonly used because they can protect the microencapsulated material from oxidization. Nevertheless, the properties of the encapsulated compounds must be studied. We compared the antigenotoxic potential of pure and microencapsulated β-carotene (mBC) in Wistar rats. Two doses of BC or mBC (2.5 or 5.0 mg/kg) were administered by gavage over a period of 14 days. The final gavage was followed by an injection of doxorubicin (DXR). After 24h the animals were euthanized. The micronucleus test results showed that when both mBC and DXR were given, only the higher dose was antigenotoxic. The results of the comet assay show that when given in association with DXR, mBC had protective effects in the liver. The differences between the results obtained with BC and mBC suggest that possibly the carotenoid biodisponibility was modified by the process of microencapsulation. In conclusion, mBC does not lose its protective properties, but higher doses must be used to observe antigenotoxic effects. This is the first time that the genotoxicity and antigenotoxicity of a microencapsulated compound was evaluated in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical, Toxicological, and Bromatological Analysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. afaissa@gmail.com
authors.forename: Alexandre Ferro
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Aissa
authors.forename: Maria Lourdes Pires
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: Juliana Carvalho
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Livia Cristina
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Hernandes
authors.forename: Adelia Ferreira
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: de Faria
authors.forename: Adriana Zerlotti
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Mercadante
authors.forename: Lusânia Maria Greggi
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Antunes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016587:Antimutagenic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020552:Comet Assay; D004339:Drug Compounding; D008297:Male; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009153:Mutagens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010316:Particle Size; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D016587:Antimutagenic Agents; D009153:Mutagens; D019207:beta Carotene