Journal
BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
Volume 111, Issue 12, Pages 2153-2166Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0007114514000166
Keywords
Vitamin A equivalency; beta-Carotene; Bioconversion; Human studies
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Funding
- Dutch Dairy Association
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Vitamin A equivalency of beta-carotene (VEB) is defined as the amount of ingested beta-carotene in mu g that is absorbed and converted into 1 mu g retinol (vitamin A) in the human body. The objective of the present review was to discuss the different estimates for VEB in various types of dietary food matrices. Different methods are discussed such as mass balance, dose-response and isotopic labelling. The VEB is currently estimated by the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) as 12:1 in a mixed diet and 2:1 in oil. For humans consuming beta-carotene dissolved in oil, a VEB between 2:1 and 4:1 is feasible. A VEB of approximately 4:1 is applicable for biofortified cassava, yellow maize and Golden Rice, which are specially bred for human consumption in developing countries. We propose a range of 9:1-16:1 for VEB in a mixed diet that encompasses the IOM VEB of 12:1 and is realistic for a Western diet under Western conditions. For a 'prudent' (i.e. non-Western) diet including a variety of commonly consumed vegetables, a VEB could range from 9:1 to 28:1 in a mixed diet.
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