University of Pretoria, Department of Genetics, Pretoria 0028, South Africa.
University of St. Andrews, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, St. Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, United Kingdom.
J Biomed Opt. 2014 Feb;19(2):025004. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.19.2.025004.
The quantification of skin carotenoid levels has a range of applications in Caucasian populations, from serving as a versatile and noninvasive biomarker (e.g., of systemic carotenoid levels, carotenoid consumption, the antioxidative capacity of skin, and oxidative stress) to being used in appearance-based interventions. Yet, no study has investigated the quantitative effect of carotenoid supplementation on African skin. The aim of this study was to determine if beta-carotene supplementation produces a significant color change in three different regions of African skin. To do so we supplemented the diet of African participants with beta-carotene over an eight-week period. Reflectance spectrophotometry measurements were taken on a weekly basis for the duration of the supplementation study. Results show a significant increase in the carotenoid coloration of lightly pigmented skin (palm of the hand) and highly pigmented skin with low sun exposure (inner arm) after supplementation. The latter was no longer significant after Bonferroni correction. The carotenoid coloration of highly pigmented skin areas with high sun exposure did not increase significantly. Skin carotenoid measurements of the palm of the hand might, therefore, serve as a potential biomarker for systemic carotenoid concentrations in people of African descent.
皮肤类胡萝卜素水平的量化在白种人群中有广泛的应用，可作为一种多功能、非侵入性的生物标志物（例如，全身性类胡萝卜素水平、类胡萝卜素摄入、皮肤抗氧化能力和氧化应激），也可用于基于外观的干预。然而，尚无研究调查类胡萝卜素补充对非洲皮肤的定量影响。本研究旨在确定β-胡萝卜素补充是否会导致非裔人群三个不同皮肤区域发生明显的颜色变化。为此，我们在八周的时间里让非洲参与者的饮食补充β-胡萝卜素。在补充研究期间，每周进行一次反射光谱光度测量。结果表明，补充后，浅色皮肤（手掌）和低阳光暴露的高色素皮肤（内臂）的类胡萝卜素着色显著增加。经过 Bonferroni 校正后，后者不再显著。高阳光暴露的高色素皮肤区域的类胡萝卜素着色没有显著增加。因此，手掌皮肤的类胡萝卜素测量可能成为非裔人群系统性类胡萝卜素浓度的潜在生物标志物。
