BOSTON—A new study published online by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that natural pigments found in plants may help protect against bone loss in older men and women.
Researchers examined potential effects on bone-mineral density of overall and individual intake of several carotenoid compounds, including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein+zeaxanthin.
Researchers tracked changes in bone mineral density at two areas of the hip and lumbar spine of male and female volunteers, aged 75 years on average, participating in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Among these volunteers, 213 men and 390 women were measured at the beginning of the study and four years later. Over the course of the study, carotenoids were associated with some level of protection against losses in bone mineral density at the hip in men and at the lumbar spine in women. No significant associations were observed at the other bone sites.
The results suggest there is a protective effect of carotenoids, particularly of lycopene, against bone loss in older adults. The researchers concluded that carotenoids may explain, in part, the previously observed protective effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on bone mineral density.
The study, led by epidemiologist Katherine Tucker with the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston, was funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).