Serum Carotenoids Reveal Poor Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Schoolchildren in Burkina Faso

The health benefits of fruits and vegetables are well-documented. Those rich in provitamin A carotenoids are good sources of vitamin A. This cross-sectional study indirectly assessed fruit and vegetable intakes using serum carotenoids in 193 schoolchildren aged 7 to 12 years in the Western part of Burkina Faso. The mean total serum carotenoid concentration was 0.23 +/- 0.29 mu mol/L, which included alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein, and beta-cryptoxanthin, and determined with serum retinol concentrations in a single analysis with high performance liquid chromatography. Serum retinol concentration was 0.80 +/- 0.35 mu mol/L with 46% of children (n = 88) having low values <0.7 mu mol/L. Total serum carotene (the sum of alpha- and beta-carotene) concentration was 0.13 +/- 0.24 mu mol/L, well below the reference range of 0.9-3.7 mu mol carotene/L used to assess habitual intake of fruits and vegetables. Individual carotenoid concentrations were determined for beta-carotene (0.01 +/- 0.05 mu mol/L), beta-carotene (0.17 +/- 0.24 mu mol/L), beta-cryptoxanthin (0.07 +/- 0.06 mu mol/L), and lutein (0.06 +/- 0.05 mu mol/L). These results confirm the previously measured high prevalence of low serum vitamin A concentrations and adds information about low serum carotenoids among schoolchildren suggesting that they have low intakes of provitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables.