Quantitation of serum carotenoid concentrations in healthy inhabitants by high-performance liquid chromatography

Serum carotenoid concentrations in healthy subjects by age and sex were investigated, as determined by two high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. Serum 'carotene' concentrations were 0.655 +/- 0.499 mumol/l 35.2 +/- 26.8 micrograms/dl) for 227 males, and 1,395 +/- 0.780 mumol/l (74.9 +/- 41.9 micrograms/dl) for 370 females. In addition, serum concentrations of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lycopene were obtained from another sample included 356 males and 567 females living in the same area. alpha-Carotene for 356 males was 0.085 +/- 0.096 mumol/l (4.6 +/- 5.2 micrograms/dl), beta-carotene was 0.555 +/- 0.491 mumol/l (29.8 +/- 26.4 micrograms/dl), and lycopene was 0.372 +/- 0.273 mumol/l (20.0 +/- 14.7 micrograms/dl), respectively. Serum concentrations of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene as well as concentrations of lycopene in these inhabitants were significantly higher for females than for males (p less than 0.001).