Carotenoids from mamey () and carrot () increase the oxidative stress resistance of .

Carotenoids are natural pigments and antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables such as carrot, tomato, orange, mango, yellow corn, pumpkin, and mamey. In this study, we evaluated the antioxidant potential of mamey () carotenoids and compared them to carrot () carotenoids. The carotenoids were extracted from mamey and carrot, and their antioxidant capacity were determined via (ABTS method) and assays (resistance against oxidative stress in ). The carotenoid contents in mamey and carrot were 4.42 ± 0.12 and 5.47 ± 0.04 mg β-carotene/100 g, respectively. Despite the differences between the carotenoid contents in both products (p < 0.05), the antioxidant capacity results showed no significant differences between the extracts (p > 0.05). The mamey and carrot carotenoid extracts decreased the oxidative damage in by 20-30% and 30-40%, respectively. Both extracts increased the resistance and enhanced the survival of the nematodes, and showed better effects than pure β-carotene, probably owing to the complex mixture in the carotenoid extracts. These results suggest that mamey is a good alternative source of carotenoids and that it protects against oxidative stress in . The protective effect of mamey carotenoids was similar to the effect of carrot carotenoids.