Rerksuppaphol Sanguansak, Rerksuppaphol Lakkana
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Srinakharinwirot University, HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center, Ongkaruck, Nakorn Nayok, Thailand.
J Med Assoc Thai. 2006 Aug;89(8):1206-12.
Epidemiologic studies found the inverse correlation between fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, various cancers, insulin resistance, and other chronic conditions. Skin carotenoid levels are highly correlated with serum levels; however, the direct measurement of skin carotenoids is difficult to perform. Raman spectroscopy has been described as a highly sensitive, specific and accurate method of skin carotenoid detection.
The authors assessed the relation between fruit and vegetable intake and skin carotenoid levels measured by Raman spectroscopy.
Twenty-nine healthy volunteers were enrolled in the present study. Demographic data and fruit and vegetable intake were recorded. Skin carotenoid levels were measured by Raman spectroscopy and were reported as Skin Carotenoid Score (SCS). The data were compared and were reported as 3 groups based on the amounts of fruit and vegetable intake.
There were no significant differences of age, body weight, height and body mass index among the groups. Mean skin carotenoid score of low fruit and vegetable intake (25,733 +/- 2,956) was significantly lower than SCS of moderate intake (31,333 +/- 4,792, p = 0.03) and high fruit and vegetable intake (35,125 +/- 6,081, p < 0.01). Mean SCS of underweight participants (29,250 +/- 4,621) was not significantly different from normal (33,384 +/- 6,614) and overweight participants (27,575 +/- 3,811), p = 0.06.
Using Raman spectroscopy, the authors found that skin carotenoid levels were directly correlated with the degree of fruit and vegetable intakes. We suggest that Raman spectroscopy should be possible to replace the invasive chemical technique for the dermatologic carotenoid measurement.
流行病学研究发现，水果和蔬菜摄入量与心血管疾病、各种癌症、胰岛素抵抗及其他慢性病风险之间呈负相关。皮肤类胡萝卜素水平与血清水平高度相关；然而，直接测量皮肤类胡萝卜素却难以实现。拉曼光谱法已被描述为一种检测皮肤类胡萝卜素的高灵敏度、特异性和准确性的方法。
作者评估了水果和蔬菜摄入量与通过拉曼光谱法测量的皮肤类胡萝卜素水平之间的关系。
本研究纳入了29名健康志愿者。记录人口统计学数据以及水果和蔬菜摄入量。通过拉曼光谱法测量皮肤类胡萝卜素水平，并报告为皮肤类胡萝卜素评分（SCS）。根据水果和蔬菜摄入量将数据进行比较并报告为3组。
各组之间在年龄、体重、身高和体重指数方面无显著差异。水果和蔬菜低摄入量组的平均皮肤类胡萝卜素评分（25,733±2,956）显著低于中等摄入量组（31,333±4,792，p = 0.03）和高摄入量组（35,125±6,081，p < 0.01）。体重过轻参与者的平均SCS（29,250±4,621）与正常体重参与者（33,384±6,614）和超重参与者（27,575±3,811）相比无显著差异，p = 0.06。
作者通过拉曼光谱法发现，皮肤类胡萝卜素水平与水果和蔬菜摄入量程度直接相关。我们认为拉曼光谱法应该有可能取代侵入性化学技术用于皮肤类胡萝卜素测量。
