Antioxidant β-carotene does not quench singlet oxygen in mammalian cells

Carotenoids, and β-carotene in particular, are important natural antioxidants. Singlet oxygen, the lowest excited state of molecular oxygen, is an intermediate often involved in natural oxidation reactions. The fact that β-carotene efficiently quenches singlet oxygen in solution-phase systems is inv...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Bosio, Gabriela Natalia, Breitenbach, Thomas, Parisi, Julieta Marcia, Reigosa, Miguel Antonio, Blaikie, Frances H., Pedersen, Brian W., Silva, Elsa F. F., Martire, Daniel Osvaldo, Ogilby, Peter R.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/83535
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/83535
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Carontenoide
Β-Carotene
Singlet Oxygen
Mammalian Cells
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.4
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
Descripción
Sumario:Carotenoids, and β-carotene in particular, are important natural antioxidants. Singlet oxygen, the lowest excited state of molecular oxygen, is an intermediate often involved in natural oxidation reactions. The fact that β-carotene efficiently quenches singlet oxygen in solution-phase systems is invariably invoked when explaining the biological antioxidative properties of β-carotene. We recently developed unique microscope-based time-resolved spectroscopic methods that allow us to directly examine singlet oxygen in mammalian cells. We now demonstrate that intracellular singlet oxygen, produced in a photosensitized process, is in fact not efficiently deactivated by β-carotene. This observation requires a re-evaluation of β-carotene's role as an antioxidant in mammalian systems and now underscores the importance of mechanisms by which β-carotene inhibits radical reactions.