Type 2 diabetes is a chronic, multifactorial disease, and oxidative stress one of the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with its appearance and development. The objective was to determine the effect of supplementation with β-carotene to type 2 diabetics and healthy individuals, on iron metabolism, oxidative balance, and antioxidant plasma capacity, using doses similar to the daily nutritional requirement.~A total of 117 volunteers participated in the study. Type 2 diabetics (34) and healthy individuals (24), received 6 mg β-carotene for 45 d, and were compared to similar non-supplemented diabetic (33) and control (26) groups. Blood samples were taken at the beginning, end and 30 days after finishing supplementation, to determine hemoglobin, hematocrit unsaturated iron binding capacity, total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation, ferritin, glycemia, glycosylated hemoglobin, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, oxidized LDL, copper, zinc, TBARS, FRAP, nitrites, GPx, SOD, folates, retinol and β-carotene.
Since diabetes has multiple etiologies and oxidative stress one of the proposed mechanisms, the objective is to determine the effect of supplementation with β-carotene to type 2 diabetics and healthy individuals, on iron metabolism, oxidative balance, and antioxidant plasma capacity, using doses similar to the daily nutritional requirement.