Title: Who Needs β-Carotene? A Focus on Embryonic Development
Abstract: Vitamin A is an essential nutrient that is required to support many crucial biological functions, including reproduction and embryonic development [1]. Mammals acquire retinoids (vitamin A and its derivatives) from the diet, either as preformed vitamin A (retinol, retinyl ester and small amount of retinoic acid) from meat and dairy products, or as provitamin A carotenoids (β-carotene, α-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin) from fruits and vegetables [1,2]. β-carotene is the most abundant and well characterized provitamin A carotenoid in human diet. In the Western countries, it contributes to about 30% of the vitamin A intake, and for certain populations it represents the most abundant source of vitamin A [3,4].
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 2
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot