Effect of oxidative stress on major plasma carotenoid content and composition in prepubertal children with growth hormone deficiency

Objective and hypotheses. This study aimed at examining the effect of oxidative stress on amount and composition of major plasma carotenoids in prepubertal children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD).

Material and methods. Thirteen prepubertal treatment-naive children (2 girls, 11 boys; aged 3.5—12.0 yr, median 8.0 years; bone age 1.5—8.0 yr; median 6.0 years,) with GHD and 7 prepubertal health children (7 boys; aged 6—11 years; median 9.3 years) were included in the study. The levels and composition of carotenoids (lutein with zeaxanthin, lycopene isomers, β-cryptoxanthin, β- and α-carotene and ketocarotenoids) were measured using reverse phase HPLC. Activity of the antioxidant system was assayed via thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), ceruloplasmin (CP) levels and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of plasma. Total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) were also measured.

Results. The levels of TBARS, TC and LDL-C in the GHD children were higher than in healthy children (median 5.6 vs 3.8 µM/L, 4.00 vs 4.37 and 2.40 vs 2.70 mM/L, respectively). Total carotenoid level did not significantly differ between control and the GHD groups. However, contents of lutein and β-cryptoxanthin were significantly lower in the GHD children in comparison with control group (21.34 vs 6.97 and 25.23 vs 10.08 mg/l, respectively). In contrast, levels of lycopene, α- and β-carotene did not significantly differ in the GHD and control groups. At the same time, the level of ketocarotenoids in the GHD children increases (35.67 vs 114.9 mg/l).

Conclusions. We observed that the presence of mild oxidative stress leads to a changes in carotenoid profile of GHD children.

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