Exposure to the carcinogen benzopyrene depletes tissue vitamin A: beta-carotene prevents depletion.

Evidence in humans and laboratory animals supports a cancer-protective effect of vitamin A, but the mechanism remains unclear. While vitamin A deficiency causes squamous metaplasia, and lung cancer patients have lower vitamin A status, their serum vitamin A levels are not indicative of deficiency. We hypothesize that local enzymatic degradation of vitamin A can be induced by exposure to carcinogens such as benzopyrene found in cigarette smoke. This study was designed to determine if benzopyrene exposure depletes tissue vitamin A and whether beta-carotene might prevent the depletion. Weanling male Fischer rats were fed a nutritionally complete purified diet, supplemented with or without benzopyrene at 400 mg/kg feed or beta-carotene at 2 g/kg feed. Vitamin A content of the liver, small intestine, and serum was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. There was no effect of benzopyrene feeding on serum retinol levels through four weeks. However, there was a decline in tissue retinol in the liver and small intestine by two weeks, with a 30% decline by four weeks (p less than 0.05). In rats fed beta-carotene, there was no effect of benzopyrene on tissue vitamin A level. These results indicate that exposure to benzopyrene induces a local tissue vitamin A depletion despite a vitamin A-sufficient diet and maintenance of serum vitamin A levels. A high intake of beta-carotene prevented the vitamin A depletion effect of benzopyrene exposure. Further studies appear warranted to determine whether some of the adverse effects of environmental carcinogens, as found in cigarette smoke, charcoal-broiled meats, and industrial wastes, might be alleviated by dietary intervention.