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

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 10; no. 10; p. 1422
• Main Authors: Bationo, Jean Fidèle, Zeba, Augustin N, Abbeddou, Souheila, Coulibaly, Nadine D, Sombier, Olivier O, Sheftel, Jesse, Bassole, Imael Henri Nestor, Barro, Nicolas, Ouedraogo, Jean Bosco, Tanumihardjo, Sherry A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 04.10.2018; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Adolescent; beta Carotene - blood; Beta-Cryptoxanthin - blood; Burkina Faso; carotenoids; Carotenoids - blood; Child; Communication; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cryptoxanthins - blood; Diet; Energy Intake; Feeding Behavior; Female; Fruit - chemistry; Humans; lutein; Lutein - blood; Male; Nutritional Status; provitamin A; retinol; Vegetables - chemistry; vitamin A; Vitamin A - blood; Vitamin A Deficiency - blood; Vitamin A Deficiency - etiology; Xanthophylls - blood; α-carotene; β-carotene; β-cryptoxanthin; Burkina Faso; retinol; α-carotene; vitamin A; carotenoids; β-cryptoxanthin; β-carotene; lutein; provitamin A
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu10101422

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 µmol/L, which included α- and β-carotene, lutein, and β-cryptoxanthin, and determined with serum retinol concentrations in a single analysis with high performance liquid chromatography. Serum retinol concentration was 0.80 ± 0.35 µmol/L with 46% of children ( = 88) having low values <0.7 µmol/L. Total serum carotene (the sum of α- and β-carotene) concentration was 0.13 ± 0.24 µmol/L, well below the reference range of 0.9⁻3.7 µmol carotene/L used to assess habitual intake of fruits and vegetables. Individual carotenoid concentrations were determined for α-carotene (0.01 ± 0.05 µmol/L), β-carotene (0.17 ± 0.24 µmol/L), β-cryptoxanthin (0.07 ± 0.06 µmol/L), and lutein (0.06 ± 0.05 µmol/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.