BIOAVAILABILITY AND BIOCONVERSION OF CAROTENOIDS

Factors that influence the bioavailability of carotenoids and their bioconversion to retinol are species of carotenoids, molecular linkage, amount of carotenoids consumed in a meal, matrix in which the carotenoid is incorporated, effectors of absorption and bioconversion, nutrient status of the host, genetic factors, host-related factors, and mathematical interactions. In this paper, current knowledge of these factors is examined. Although data are not sufficiently comparable to allow an extensive systematic comparison of results, a number of conclusions can be drawn from the information available.