Lee Swanson Research Update

Carotenoids May Help Boost Bone Health

January 2009

Antioxidant pigments may protect against bone loss in older men and women, according to a new study funded by the Agricultural Research Service, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that an increased intake of carotenoids, particularly lycopene, was associated with some level of protection against loss in bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine in women and at the hip in men.

Researchers from Tufts University, Hebrew SeniorLife and Boston University, studied data from 213 men and 390 women over the age of 75 participating in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. The participants were followed for four years.

"These results suggest a possible protective effect of carotenoids, particularly of lycopene, against bone loss in older adults," wrote the researchers, led by Katherine Tucker. "It is therefore possible that carotenoids explain part of the previously observed protective effects of fruit and vegetable intake on BMD."

Tucker and her co-workers measured the intakes of total and individual carotenoids, including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein, plus zeaxanthin. Intakes were assessed using a 126-item food frequency questionnaire. They then correlated this with the participants’ BMD at the hip, spine and radial shaft.

At the end of the study, the researchers noted a link between intakes of lycopene and the change over four years in the BMD of the lumbar spine in women. Moreover, this carotenoid was linked to changes in the hips of men. BMD in the hips of men was also associated with intakes of total carotenoids, beta-carotene and lutein, plus zeaxanthin, said the researchers.

The scientists proposed that the carotenoids may play a protective role in skeletal health via their antioxidant activity. Previous reports have suggested that oxidative stress may increase bone resorption. Other mechanisms may also be responsible for these effects, they added.

"In summary," the researchers concluded, "although we observed few cross-sectional associations between carotenoid intakes and BMD, we observed several inverse associations between carotenoids (except for beta-cryptoxanthin and alpha-carotene) and four-year loss in BMD in men and of lycopene and bone loss at the lumbar spine in women."

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89(1):416-424, 2009

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