OXIDIZED CAROTENOIDS, RETINOIDS AND RELATED CONJUGATED POLYENES, AND DERIVED FRACTIONS AND COMPOUNDS USEFUL AS CELL-DIFFERENTIATION INDUCERS, CYTOSTATIC AGENTS, AND ANTI-TUMOR AGENTS

摘要

.beta.-Carotene, lycopene and canthaxanthin, asrepresented by carotenoids, retinoic acid, andrepresentative retinoids, undergo extensive oxidation toyield substances which have properties useful as non--toxicagents active against cell proliferation, tumors,and tumorigenic viruses, and useful as promoters of celldifferentiation. It is evident from chemical analysisof the highly oxidized .beta.-carotene product mixture thatnone of the various forms of vitamin A are present orare present only in minor amounts. Furthermore, thebiological activities of oxidized canthaxanthin andlycopene indicate the presence of active substances thatare different from vitamin A. Although the cytostaticand differentiation promotion activities of oxidized.beta.-carotene resemble those of vitamin A itself, generallythe effects are more powerful for oxidized .beta.-carotene ina wide variety of circumstances. Unlike vitamin A, theoxidized .beta.-carotene of the invention is non-toxic. Theoxidized carotenoid is a mixture of compounds which canbe fractionated. The fractions exhibit anticanceractivity comparable to, or higher, than the activity ofunfractionated oxidized carotenoid.