ß-Carotene in Golden Rice is as good as ß-carotene in oil at providing vitamin A to children.

BACKGROUND: Golden Rice (GR) has been genetically engineered to be rich in ß-carotene for use as a source of vitamin A. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to compare the vitamin A value of ß-carotene in GR and in spinach with that of pure ß-carotene in oil when consumed by children. DESIGN: Children (n = 68; age 6-8 y) were randomly assigned to consume GR or spinach (both grown in a nutrient solution containing 23 atom% ²H2O) or [²H8]ß-carotene in an oil capsule. The GR and spinach ß-carotene were enriched with deuterium (²H) with the highest abundance molecular mass (M) at M(ß-C)+²H10. [¹³C10]Retinyl acetate in an oil capsule was administered as a reference dose. Serum samples collected from subjects were analyzed by using gas chromatography electron-capture negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry for the enrichments of labeled retinol: M(retinol)+4 (from [²H8]ß-carotene in oil), M(retinol)+5 (from GR or spinach [²H10]ß-carotene), and M(retinol)+10 (from [¹³C10]retinyl acetate). RESULTS: Using the response to the dose of [¹³C10]retinyl acetate (0.5 mg) as a reference, our results (with the use of AUC of molar enrichment at days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 after the labeled doses) showed that the conversions of pure ß-carotene (0.5 mg), GR ß-carotene (0.6 mg), and spinach ß-carotene (1.4 mg) to retinol were 2.0, 2.3, and 7.5 to 1 by weight, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The ß-carotene in GR is as effective as pure ß-carotene in oil and better than that in spinach at providing vitamin A to children. A bowl of ~100 to 150 g cooked GR (50 g dry weight) can provide ~60% of the Chinese Recommended Nutrient Intake of vitamin A for 6-8-y-old children.