Contribution of violaxanthin, neoxanthin, phytoene and phytofluene to total carotenoid intake: Assessment in Luxembourg

Dietary carotenoid intake has been associated with a low incidence of several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular complications, cancer, and macular degeneration. While food composition and intake of some carotenoids such as β-carotene and lycopene is frequently available, information on the contribution of less studied epoxycarotenoids such as neoxanthin, violaxanthin, and phytoene/phytofluene, is scant. The present study describes the assessment of ten individual carotenoids in frequently consumed food items and estimates their contribution to total carotenoid intake in Luxembourg. For this purpose, 50 frequently consumed food items were collected from local groceries, and combined with food consumption data obtained from the first epidemiological Luxembourgish cardio-vascular risk factor study (ORISCAV-LUX). Highest epoxycarotenoid content was found in bell peppers (4.5 mg/100 g), highest amount of phytoene/phytofluene in apricot (9.6 mg/100 g) and tomato ketchup (4.5 mg/100 g). National daily per capita intake was assessed as 7.6 mg α- and β-carotene, 2.0 mg phytoene, 1.8 mg lycopene, 1.5 mg lutein, 1.4 mg β-cryptoxanthin, 1.2 mg violaxanthin, 0.7 mg phytoene, 0.5 mg neoxanthin, and 0.3 mg zeaxanthin, with 10% of total daily carotenoid intake from epoxycarotenoids and 16% from phytoene/phytofluene. While intake in Luxembourg appears to be comparable to other European data, this study highlights the importance of taking less frequently analysed carotenoids into account for determining total intake.