Serum carotenoids as biomakers: a staretegy to improve the validityof dietary assessment

摘要

The margin of error in the assessment of dietary intake using traditional tools such as 24-hour recalls, food frequency questionnaires and food records is large and could lead to the misinterpretation of research results. Research on the biomarkers associated with fruit and vegetable consumption has the potential to significantly improve the validity of the assessment of dietary intake as well as the measurement of the associations between nutritional quality and health. Carotenoids, pigments produced almost exclusively in the plant world, are of growing interest in this field. The characteristics of carotenoids as well as the benefits and challenges associated with their use in nutrition assessment will be examined in this review.