Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32210038›Full record

ReviewAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)2020

The Benefits and Risks of Certain Dietary Carotenoids that Exhibit both Anti- and Pro-Oxidative Mechanisms-A Comprehensive Review.

Homer S Black, Fritz Boehm, Ruth Edge, T George Truscott

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
80citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
7.0field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

80 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 168 citations in OpenAlex.

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  19. Effect ofLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
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20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Homer S BlackDepartment of Dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Fritz BoehmPhotobiology Research, Internationales Handelszentrum (IHZ), Friedrichstraße 95, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Ruth EdgeDalton Cumbrian Facility, Westlakes Science Park, The University of Manchester, Cumbria CA24 3HA, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9144-041X
T George TruscottSchool of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK.
Baylor College of Medicine · USKeele University · GBUniversity of Manchester · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Carotenoid pigments, particularly β-carotene and lycopene, are consumed in human foodstuffs and play a vital role in maintaining health. β-carotene is known to quench singlet oxygen and can have strong antioxidant activity. As such, it was proposed that β-carotene might reduce the risk of cancer. Epidemiological studies found inverse relationships between cancer risk and β-carotene intake or blood levels. However, clinical trials failed to support those findings and β-carotene supplementation actually increased lung cancer incidence in male smokers. Early experimental animal studies found dietary β-carotene inhibited UV-induced skin cancers. Later studies found that β-carotene supplementation exacerbated UV-carcinogenic expression. The discrepancies of these results were related to the type of diet the animals consumed. Lycopene has been associated with reduced risk of lethal stage prostate cancer. Other carotenoids, e.g., lutein and zeaxanthin, play a vital role in visual health. Numerous studies of molecular mechanisms to explain the carotenoids' mode of action have centered on singlet oxygen, as well as radical reactions. In cellular systems, singlet oxygen quenching by carotenoids has been reported but is more complex than in organic solvents. In dietary β-carotene supplement studies, damaging pro-oxidant reactivity can also arise. Reasons for this switch are likely due to the properties of the carotenoid radicals themselves. Understanding singlet oxygen reactions and the anti-/pro-oxidant roles of carotenoids are of importance to photosynthesis, vision and cancer.

Indexed as

cancercaroteneslycopenemacular degenerationporphyriaradical reactionssinglet oxygenβ-carotene

Identifiers

PMID32210038
PMCPMC7139534
OpenAlexW3012819259

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.