• Seoeun Ahn, Jeong-Eun Hwang, Yoon Jae Kim, Kunsun Eom, Myoung Hoon Jung, HyunSeok Moon, Dongwoo Ham, Ji Min Park, Se Uk Oh, Jin-Young Park, and Hyojee Joung.
• Department of Public Health Science, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• Nutrition. 2024 Mar 1; 119: 112304112304.

ObjectiveOptical spectroscopy-measured skin carotenoid status (SCS) has been validated for estimating fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake; however, there is limited research addressing SCS kinetics in whole-diet interventions. The aim of this controlled feeding trial was to explore SCS's response to carotenoid intake changes via whole-diet intervention, evaluating its biomarker potential.MethodsEighty participants ages 20 to 49 y, without underlying diseases, were randomly allocated to the high-carotenoid group (HG; n = 40) or control group (CG; n = 40). The HG consumed a high-carotenoid diet (21 mg total carotenoids/2000 kcal), whereas the CG consumed a control diet (13.6 mg total carotenoids/2000 kcal) for 6 wk. Subsequently, skin and blood carotenoid concentrations were tracked without intervention for 4 wk. SCS was measured weekly via resonance Raman spectroscopy, and serum carotenoid concentrations were analyzed biweekly using high-performance liquid chromatography. Baseline carotenoid and F&V intakes were assessed via a 3-d diet record. The kinetics of SCS and serum carotenoid concentrations were analyzed using a weighted generalized estimating equation. Pearson's correlation analyses were used to examine baseline correlations between SCS and dietary carotenoid and F&V intakes, as well as serum carotenoid concentrations.ResultsDuring the intervention, the HG showed a faster and greater SCS increase than the CG (difference in slope per week = 8.87 AU, Pinteraction <0.001). Baseline SCS had positive correlations with total carotenoid intake (r = 0.45), total F&V intake (r = 0.49), and total serum carotenoid concentration (r = 0.79; P < 0.001 for all).ConclusionThese results suggest that SCS is a valid biomarker for monitoring changes in carotenoid intake through whole diet, which supports using SCS for assessing carotenoid-rich F&V intake.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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