Today I want to discuss about some possible health benefits of β-Carotene.I hope everybody can learn many important things from here.So let's start:
Cancer:
Many epidemiological studies have found that a high intake of foods rich in β-Carotene is correlated with a reduced risk of certain cancers.The most definite correlation is with reduced risk of lung cancer.β-Carotene has also been associated with reduced risk of cancer of the female reproductive system, gastrointestinal system and mouth,gums and trachea.These are all cancers of epithelial cells.The beneficial effects attributed to β-Carotene may in some cases be due to other carotenoids or may be shared by all carotenoids.
In man the administration of β-Carotene has been reported to reduce the number of micro nucleated buccal mucosal cells in tobacco chewers as also lower the frequency of chromosomal breakages in betel nut eaters.
The mechanism by which β-Carotene acts as an anti carcinogen is not established. It has been suggested that this effect may be mediated through its well known property of being an effective quencher of singlet oxygen or that it may deactivate certain reactive molecules, by altering hepatic levels of some drug metabolising enzymes, thus preventing cell damage.It has been suggested that β-Carotene may act by enhancing the immune defense mechanism.
Cardiovascular disease :
β-Carotene may also be an important nutritional weapon in the fight against cardiovascular disease. Supplemental intake of β-Carotene has been shown to reduce the incidence of angina in a small sample of men who had previously had heart attacks.
Cataracts:
Cataracts are areas of opacity in the lens of the eye. Their formation has been linked to damage by oxidising agents and free radicals.People with low serum carotenoid levels had more than 5 and 1/2 times the risk of developing cataracts than those with high serum carotenoid levels.Although the lens of the eye contains little β-Carotene, it has been suggested that β-Carotene may protect against cataracts simply by decreasing the level of oxidative damage in the body as a whole.
Gastric inflammation :
Carotenoids have inhibitory effect on gastric inflammation induced by helico bacter pyroli by inhibiting the activation of transcription factor.
You can learn many things from here👇
Nutrition Science by B. Srilakshmi
Image made by me
Thanks for reading. Thanks to @Dreamer @Omar sir also.I hope they like my article 😇😇
Wow. nice and helpful information about B-carotene :)