The relation of alcohol consumption to serum carotenoid and retinol levels. Effects of withdrawal.

The effects of alcohol consumption on plasma concentrations of retinol and various carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, zeaxanthin-lutein, lycopene and beta-cryptoxanthin) were studied in a control population of 118 supposedly healthy men consuming low or moderate amounts of alcohol, and 95 alcoholic patients without severe liver disease before and after a withdrawal treatment of 21 days. There was no significant difference between alcoholics and controls regarding plasma retinol level. Conversely, plasma concentrations of all the carotenoid fractions were significantly lower in the alcoholic group than in the low drinker group. After withdrawal, plasma levels of all the carotenoids increased whereas retinol concentration diminished. Adjustment of data for various potential confounding factors especially including nutritional intake suggests an effect of alcohol on plasma carotenoids and a specific effect of withdrawal on plasma retinol, both of them being not only related to nutritional status.