Table 3. Bioconversion factors in Mongolian gerbils fed high β-carotene or high β-cryptoxanthin maize or 0.5% freeze-dried carrots with different staple food matrices.
| Study 1 | μmol provitamin
A: μmol retinol |
μg provitamin A: μg retinol |
IOM referencea |
% IOM value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High β-carotene | ||||
| G1 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 12.0 | 19 |
| G3 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 12.0 | 23 |
| G7 | 3.3 | 6.3 | 12.1 | 52 |
| High β-cryptoxanthin | ||||
| G2 | 6.1 | 11.8 | 21.8 | 54 |
| G4 | 2.3 | 4.4 | 21.5 | 20 |
| G5 | 3.3 | 6.4 | 20.4 | 31 |
| G6 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 21.6 | 14 |
| Study 2 | ||||
|
| ||||
| Carrot alone | 3.2 | 6.0 | 15.1 | 40 |
| Rice matrix | 3.0 | 5.7 | 15.2 | 38 |
| Potato matrix | 2.7 | 5.1 | 15.0 | 34 |
| Banana matrix | 4.4 | 8.2 | 15.3 | 54 |
| Maize matrix | 4.6 | 8.5 | 15.0 | 57 |
a
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) values7 were calculated by determining the proportion of β-cryptoxanthin and α-carotene in the diet compared with the β-carotene and multiplying by the IOM values of 12:1 for β-carotene and 24:1 for β-cryptoxanthin and α-carotene.