Beta-cryptoxanthin: An overview on dietary sources, metabolism, benefits in human health, and biofortification

Vitamin A is a vitally important nutrient required for growth, cellular differentiation, vision, and immune function in animals. In addition to the preformed retinyl esters with fatty acids from meat, dairy products and fortified foods in our diet, the fat soluble vitamin also exists as provitamin A carotenoids in plant foods. Although vitamin A is rich in many foods, provitamin A carotenoids are not naturally abundant in staple foods (such as maize, wheat, and rice), and vitamin A deficiency is a serious global health concern particularly prevalent in impoverished areas of Africa, Central America, and South-East Asia where people primarily rely on white maize as a staple food. Recently, efforts to promote maize biofortification programs with substantially elevated provitamin A carotenoid concentrations have received increased attention. Using chicken model and the natural ability of laying hen to deposit carotenoids into its egg yolk, we have shown that beta-cryptoxanthin-biofortified maize is a potentially effective vehicle to enrich provitamin A value and to enhance the color of yolks. Enhancement of provitamin A carotenoids in foods continues to be a strategy to combat the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency worldwide and reverse the current global health situation.;Citrus fruits, a popular fruit crop characterized by the distinctive flavor and delightful taste, have been integrated as an important food and an inseparable part of our daily diet with wide consumption. In our review article, we have demonstrated that citrus fruits are particularly abundant in vitamin C, and are a good source supplying carbohydrates, dietary fiber, B vitamins (thiamin, pyridoxine, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and folate), and phytochemicals such as carotenoids, where beta-cryptoxanthin exists in high abundance, and flavonoids. These biological compounds provide provitamin A value (for example, beta-cryptoxanthin) and purported antioxidant properties, which are of vital importance in improved human health with suggested associations between citrus consumption and prevention of various chronic diseases.