The Role of Oxidative Stress in the Pathogenesis of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

http://www.uniroma2.it/didattica/piante_medicinali/deposito/Carotenoidi.pdf

Carotenoids and human health

A diet rich in carotenoid-containing foods is associated with a number of health benefits. Lycopene provides the familiar red color to tomato products and is one of the major carotenoids in the diet of North Americans and Europeans. Interest in lycopene is growing rapidly following the recent publication of epidemiologic studies implicating lycopene in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancers of the prostate or gastrointestinal tract. Lycopene has unique structural and chemical features that may contribute to specific biological properties. Data concerning lycopene bioavailability, tissue distribution, metabolism, excretion, and biological actions in experimental animals and humans are beginning to accumulate although much additional research is necessary. This review will summarize our knowledge in these areas as well as the associations between lycopene consumption and human health.

Lycopene: Chemistry, Biology, and Implications for Human Health and Disease

Lutein, zeaxanthin, and the macular pigment.

The macular region of the primate retina is yellow in color due to the presence of the macular pigment, composed of two dietary xanthophylls, lutein and zeaxanthin, and another xanthophyll, meso-zeaxanthin. The latter is presumably formed from either lutein or zeaxanthin in the retina. By absorbing blue-light, the macular pigment protects the underlying photoreceptor cell layer from light damage, possibly initiated by the formation of reactive oxygen species during a photosensitized reaction. There is ample epidemiological evidence that the amount of macular pigment is inversely associated with the incidence of age-related macular degeneration, an irreversible process that is the major cause of blindness in the elderly. The macular pigment can be increased in primates by either increasing the intake of foods that are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, such as dark-green leafy vegetables, or by supplementation with lutein or zeaxanthin. Although increasing the intake of lutein or zeaxanthin might prove to be protective against the development of age-related macular degeneration, a causative relationship has yet to be experimentally demonstrated.

Biologic mechanisms of the protective role of lutein and zeaxanthin in the eye.

Thirty-four carotenoids, including 13 geometrical isomers and eight metabolites, in breast milk and serum of three lactating mothers have been separated, identified, quantified, and compared by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)−photodiode array (PDA) detection−mass spectrometry (MS). Among the metabolites were two oxidation products of lycopene and four of lutein/zeaxanthin. In addition, two metabolites of lutein, formed as a result of dehydration of this dihydroxycarotenoid under acidic conditions similar to those of the stomach, have also been identified in plasma and breast milk. The oxidative metabolites of lycopene with a novel five-membered-ring end group have been identified as epimeric 2,6-cyclolycopene-1,5-diols by comparison of their HPLC−UV/visible−MS profiles with those of fully characterized (1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy) synthetic compounds. The HPLC procedures employed also detected vitamin A, two forms of vitamin E (γ- and α-tocopherol), and two non-carotenoid food components, ...

Spangler Cj

Papers

Identification, Quantification, and Relative Concentrations of Carotenoids and Their Metabolites in Human Milk and Serum