beta-carotene and Alcoholism

This study examined the effects of beta-carotene on antioxidant status in rats with chronic alcohol consumption. At the beginning of experiment (week 0), according to both the plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities, rats (n = 24) were divided into 3 groups and fed with a standard diet (group C), a diet containing ethanol (group E), or a diet containing ethanol and beta-carotene (group E+B). After 10 weeks, plasma AST and ALT, fat accumulation in the liver, antioxidant enzyme activities in erythrocytes and the liver, malondialdehyde (MDA), and alpha-tocopherol and retinol in plasma and hepatic samples were analyzed. The chronic alcohol diet significantly increased AST and ALT levels in plasma, and these changes were prevented by supplementing the diet with beta-carotene. Glutathione (GSH) in erythrocytes and in the liver was significantly elevated in rats fed with a diet containing beta-carotene. The results indicate that beta-carotene supplementation can prevent ethanol-induced liver damage and increase GSH concentrations in erythrocytes and the liver.

Topics: Alanine Transaminase; Alcoholism; alpha-Tocopherol; Analysis of Variance; Animal Feed; Animals; Antioxidants; Aspartate Aminotransferases; beta Carotene; Diet; Erythrocytes; Ethanol; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic; Glutathione; Lipids; Liver; Malondialdehyde; Organ Size; Oxidative Stress; Oxidoreductases; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Uric Acid; Vitamin A

Topics: Aged; Alcoholism; beta Carotene; Cholagogues and Choleretics; Female; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis; Retinitis Pigmentosa; Ursodeoxycholic Acid

In order to study the relationship between alcohol abuse and oxidative stress, and to identify oxidative damage of alcohol abuse in human bodies.. 80 cases of male alcoholics (AL) aged 40 years old and 80 cases of male healthy volunteers (HV) of the same age without drinking history were investigated by measuring concentrations of vitamin C (VC), vitamin E (VE) and beta-carotene (beta-CAR) in plasma as well as activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in RBC with spectrophotometric assays.. Compared with the average values (AV) of the above biochemical parameters in the HV group, the average values of VC, VE and beta-CAR in plasma and the activities of SOD, CAT and GSH-Px in RBC in the AL group were significantly decreased (P = 0.0000). The findings in linear regression and correlation analysis for 80 alcoholics showed that with the prolonged drinking duration and increased daily drinking quantity, the values of VC, VE and beta-CAR in plasma as well as SOD, CAT and GSH-Px in RBC in the alcoholics were gradually decreased (P = 0.000), representing a respectively significant linear negative correlation. The analysis of stepwise regression and correlation revealed that the drinking duration had the closest correlation with the values of VE in plasma as well as CAT and GSH-Px in RBC, while the daily drinking quantity had the closest correlation with the values of VC, VE and beta-CAR in plasma as well as SOD and GSH-Px in RBC.. The findings of the present study suggested that the oxidative stress in the alcoholics became pathologically intensified, leading to potential oxidative damages in their bodies. Therefore, alcoholics should abstain from alcohol drinking, and should take as supplements suitable dosage of antioxidants per day such as VC, VE, beta-CAR and others to moderate potential oxidative damages in their bodies.

Topics: Adult; Alcoholism; Antioxidants; Ascorbic Acid; beta Carotene; Case-Control Studies; Erythrocytes; Glutathione Peroxidase; Humans; Male; Oxidative Stress; Superoxide Dismutase; Vitamin E

To study the correlation between abusing alcohol and antioxidants, antioxidases and oxygen free radical reaction.. We measured spectrophotometrically the plasma vitamin C(P-VC), plasma vitamin E(P-VE), plasma beta-carotene (P-beta-CAR) contents and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (E-SOD), erythrocyte catalase (E-CAT), erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (E-GSH-Px) activities in 194 male (40 years old) alcohol abusers and 50 male (40 years old) nondrinkers.. The average P-VC, P-VE, P-beta-CAR contents and E-SOD, E-CAT, E-GSH-Px activities of the alcohol abuser group were lower than those of the nondrinker group. The P-VC, P-VE, P-beta-CAR contents and E-SOD, E-CAT, E-GSH-Px activities of the alcohol abusers decreased as the time and quantity of abusing alcohol increased.. The oxygen free radical reaction in the alcohol abusers was pathologically exacerbated, and the balance between oxidation and antioxidation was serious imbalanced.

Topics: Adult; Alcoholism; Antioxidants; Ascorbic Acid; beta Carotene; Catalase; Free Radical Scavengers; Glutathione Peroxidase; Humans; Male; Superoxide Dismutase; Vitamin E

Previous studies indicated that serum beta-carotene levels were low among smokers and drinkers. However these findings may result from the strong relationship between smoking and drinking.. Data were collected from 1902 males randomly selected from participants of a cohort study. The effects of smoking on serum beta-carotene levels were assessed according to drinking status (non-drinker, ex-drinker and current drinker), and those of drinking were assessed according to smoking status (ex-smoker and current smoker) using general linear model including other factors (age, intake of green-yellow vegetables, intake of carrot or pumpkin, body mass index serum cholesterol levels.). An inverse dose-response relationship between daily consumption of alcohol and beta-carotene levels was observed regardless of smoking status, and also between number of cigarettes smoked per day and beta-carotene levels regardless of drinking status.. These results suggest that cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking reduce beta-carotene levels independently.

Topics: Adult; Alcoholism; beta Carotene; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet Surveys; Humans; Japan; Linear Models; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasms; Population Surveillance; Risk Factors; Smoking; Surveys and Questionnaires

The effects of alcohol consumption on plasma concentrations of retinol and various carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, zeaxanthin-lutein, lycopene and beta-cryptoxanthin) were studied in a control population of 118 supposedly healthy men consuming low or moderate amounts of alcohol, and 95 alcoholic patients without severe liver disease before and after a withdrawal treatment of 21 days. There was no significant difference between alcoholics and controls regarding plasma retinol level. Conversely, plasma concentrations of all the carotenoid fractions were significantly lower in the alcoholic group than in the low drinker group. After withdrawal, plasma levels of all the carotenoids increased whereas retinol concentration diminished. Adjustment of data for various potential confounding factors especially including nutritional intake suggests an effect of alcohol on plasma carotenoids and a specific effect of withdrawal on plasma retinol, both of them being not only related to nutritional status.

Topics: Adult; Alcoholism; Apolipoprotein A-I; Apolipoproteins B; beta Carotene; Carotenoids; Cryptoxanthins; Ethanol; Humans; Lutein; Lycopene; Male; Middle Aged; Vitamin A; Xanthophylls; Zeaxanthins

Topics: Alcoholism; Animals; beta Carotene; Carotenoids; Drug Synergism; Ethanol; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Smoking; Vitamin E

We found lower plasma beta-carotene concentrations in alcoholics than in control subjects, but heavy drinkers (> or = 200 g/d) had about twice the beta-carotene of those drinking less (P < 0.01), with a significant correlation between plasma beta-carotene and alcohol intake (r = 0.6, P < 0.001). When beta-carotene beadlets (30-60 mg/d) were administered to hospitalized alcoholics given controlled diets, those with cirrhosis had a much lower plasma beta-carotene response than those without; the latter in turn responded with lower beta-carotene concentrations than did control subjects. Plasma retinol, alpha-tocopherol, and other carotenoids, such as lycopene, did not differ significantly. We concluded that plasma beta-carotene is relatively increased by heavy alcohol consumption, whereas in patients with liver damage, especially cirrhosis, it is lowered. In these patients, beta-carotene supplementation may be justified, but this should be coupled with control of drinking because of possible hepatotoxic alcohol-beta-carotene interactions.

Topics: Adult; Alcoholism; Analysis of Variance; beta Carotene; Carotenoids; Cholesterol; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Ethanol; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic; Male; Middle Aged; Vitamin A; Vitamin E

The antioxidant status of alcoholic patients was assessed by direct measurement of the plasma antioxidants alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene and of selenium as a marker of glutathione peroxidase. Overall, the alcoholic group showed significant decreases in the mean plasma values of beta-carotene, zinc and selenium when compared to the control subjects. When the patients were subdivided according to their liver histology, beta-carotene showed a progressive decrease in plasma concentration with increasing liver damage, whereas alpha-tocopherol levels were only depleted in the patients with cirrhosis. There were significant decreases in the plasma concentrations of both alpha-tocopherol and selenium in all patients with alcoholic skeletal muscle myopathy, whereas patients with normal muscle biopsies showed adequate antioxidant status. Such results support a role for free radical-mediated damage in end organ injury, particularly myopathy, in alcohol misusers.

Topics: Adult; Alcoholism; Antioxidants; beta Carotene; Biopsy; Carotenoids; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic; Female; Humans; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic; Liver Function Tests; Male; Middle Aged; Muscles; Muscular Diseases; Selenium; Vitamin A; Vitamin E

In a prospective study, several parameters of small intestinal function have been assessed in 20 patients with chronic relapsing pancreatitis with and without steatorrhoea. By and large all routine parameters of small intestinal function were found to be normal. In particular, neither a previously reported high incidence of lactase deficiency, nor D-xylose malabsorption or vitamin B12 depletion was observed. However, there was a high incidence of abnormal 14C-cholylglycine breath tests (40%), suggesting the presence of mild bacterial overgrowth. Occasionally, this condition was associated with diarrhoea and steatorrhoea, thus indicating that steatorrhoea remaining after high-dosage pancreatin supplementation might sometimes be due to bacterial overgrowth.

Topics: Alcoholism; beta Carotene; Breath Tests; Carotenoids; Chronic Disease; Fats; Feces; Folic Acid; Glycocholic Acid; Humans; Intestinal Absorption; Intestine, Small; Pancreatitis; Prospective Studies; Recurrence; Vitamin B 12

Topics: Adult; Alcoholism; beta Carotene; Carotenoids; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nutrition Disorders