Beta-carotene and the clearing of hardened arteries in mice
What it found
In mice, beta-carotene helped clear fatty plaques from arteries, and this effect seemed to depend on the body making vitamin A from it.
The work was done in animals, not people.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Plaque clearing in mice
In two independent mouse models, beta-carotene sped up the resolution of atherosclerosis. This happened without changes in body weight gain or blood fat levels.
Vitamin A link
Experiments in mice without the Bco1 enzyme pointed to vitamin A production as being involved in beta-carotene's effect on plaque resolution.
Regulatory T cells
Beta-carotene encouraged regulatory T cells to expand inside the plaque. When these cells were partly blocked, the effect of beta-carotene on plaque resolution was reduced.
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 their data highlight the potential of beta-carotene and BCO1 activity in the resolution of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
How it was done
The authors note that beta-carotene oxygenase 1 (BCO1), the enzyme that splits beta-carotene into vitamin A, has been linked to lower cholesterol in people and mice. They wanted to see whether beta-carotene could also help resolve existing artery plaques.
They studied two separate mouse models of atherosclerosis and also used mice lacking the Bco1 enzyme. They gave beta-carotene and used an antibody infusion to partly block regulatory T cells.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are mouse studies. They can't show whether beta-carotene clears artery plaques in people.
- The work used two mouse models and mice lacking a specific enzyme, so the results may not apply to humans.
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
- Abstract only
- 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