Workshop 20

Carrots and mangoes: QA requirements

Mr Eddie Carr and Dr Jeffrey Barron

We will discuss the importance of vitamins A, E and carotenoids in health and disease: the indications for assay (1) (2), and obtaining valid data.

Serum carotenoid concentration have always proved useful in explaining yellowish pigmentation in patients with normal bilirubin levels. It is important to recognise that determining beta-carotene levels alone may cause problems if the pigmentation is due to other carotenoids. Quality Assurance at these high serum concentrations is obviously essential for correct quantitation but also important for identification of the individual carotenoids.

The Workshop Leaders will show chromatograms illustrating the effects of various dietary components on carotenoid concentrations. Accurate quantitation and identification is important to clinicians who can then carefully examine a patient’s dietary habits.

Results of work from the authors’ laboratory on carotenoids in Coeliac and Crohns diseases of childhood will also be presented. Low concentrations would be expected and were found. Discussion will centre on the value of beta carotene estimations in these conditions and any special Quality Control problems at the low levels encountered.

References:

(1) Saldana Chaparro R, Carr E, Barron JL. Hypercarotenaemia or hypercarotenoidaemia. Ann Clin Biochem 2003: 40: 280-282

(2) Barron J. Fat soluble anti-oxidant vitamins A, E and carotenoids. Clinical Biochemistry 2001; 3(3): 82-86