Beta-carotene and plaque healing in mice
What it found
In mice with existing artery plaques, a beta-carotene supplement helped plaques heal faster, with more collagen and fewer inflammatory cells.
The effect depended on the body turning beta-carotene into vitamin A.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Plaque healing in mice
In two separate mouse models, beta-carotene led to more collagen in the plaques and fewer inflammatory cells, compared with mice not given beta-carotene. Plaque size did not change.
Vitamin A is needed
Mice that could not convert beta-carotene into vitamin A did not show the same improvement in plaque healing. This suggests the effect works through vitamin A.
Immune cells in plaque
Beta-carotene increased the number of regulatory T cells in the plaques. When these cells were partly depleted, the benefit of beta-carotene on plaque healing was reduced.
Blood fats unchanged
During plaque healing, beta-carotene did not change cholesterol or triglyceride levels in the blood. The improvement in plaques was not due to changes in blood fats.
Other findings
Dose used
The mice were fed a diet with 50 mg of beta-carotene per kg of food. For comparison, the paper notes that carrots contain 80 mg per kg.
What the authors conclude
“Our data highlight the potential of β-carotene and BCO1 activity in the resolution of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that vitamin A made from beta-carotene helps regulatory T cells expand in artery plaques, which contributes to plaque healing.
- They suggest that dietary beta-carotene and the enzyme that converts it to vitamin A may have a dual role: slowing plaque build-up and helping existing plaques heal.
- They call for more research to understand how vitamin A and other nutrients affect immune cells during plaque healing.
How it was done
The authors had already shown that beta-carotene slows the build-up of artery plaques. They wanted to know whether it could also help existing plaques heal and become more stable.
They studied mice with artery plaques in three sets of experiments. In two models, mice were fed a diet with beta-carotene or a control diet for 3 to 4 weeks while their plaques were healing. In a third set, they used mice that could not make vitamin A from beta-carotene, and mice where certain immune cells were partly depleted.
What it can’t tell you
- These are animal studies. They cannot show whether beta-carotene helps heal plaques in people.
- The mice were given beta-carotene at a specific dose and for a short time. The results may not apply to other doses or longer use in people.
- The study did not test whether beta-carotene prevents heart attacks or strokes in people.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NHLBI NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- IP, JC, AA, AB, PM, DM, JS, EF, JA No competing interests declared
- Authors work at
- University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, United States; The University of Jordan, Jordan; New York University Grossman School of Medicine, United States
The paper
- Title
- β-Carotene accelerates the resolution of atherosclerosis in mice
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Pinos I, Coronel J, Albakri A, et al (2024). β-Carotene accelerates the resolution of atherosclerosis in mice. eLife. doi:10.7554/eLife.87430Free full textPubMed 38319073DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error