Carotenoids as an alternative against hypovitaminosis A

• Autor(a) principal: Burgos AMBRÓSIO, Carmem Lygia
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: de Arruda Camara e Siqueira CAMPOS, Florisbela, Pinheiro de FARO, Zelyta
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Nutrição
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.puc-campinas.edu.br/nutricao/article/view/9784
• topic: carotenoids; biological vailability; hypovitaminosis A; carotenóides; disponibilidade biológica; hipovitaminose A

Hypovitaminosis A causes xerophthalmia, blindness and death in thousands of children throughout the worldand constitutes one of the main nutritional problems in the populations of developing countries, includingBrazil. Although fruits and vegetables, sources of carotenoids, are widely available in Brazil, hypovitaminosisA constitutes a serious public health problem. The lack of information available to the population about thedietary sources of carotenoids and factors affecting their bioavailability, known in the literature as SLAMENGHI,are possible causes associated with this contradiction. Current carotenoid conversion factors to retinol arehigher than earlier ones. This suggests a reduced effectiveness in the conversion of carotenoids into the activeform of vitamin A, questioning the role of carotenoids in combating hypovitaminosis A. The aim of this reviewis to discuss the bioavailability of carotenoids and their food sources in order to better assess the possibility ofusing these pigments to combat hypovitaminosis A.