A biological assay was conducted in order to verify the possible structural interconversion of the 9-cis, 13-cis and all-trans beta-carotene isomers. The different beta-carotene isomers (either all-trans b-carotene, 9-cis beta-carotene or 13-cis b-carotene) were administered for fifteen days to rats that had been previously depleted of liver carotenoids. It was possible to verify the in vivo re-isomerization of the isomers. The 9-cis beta-carotene isomer can be converted into all-trans beta-carotene, the latter re-isomerized into 9-cis beta-carotene, and the 13-cis beta-carotene modified into 9-cis beta-carotene and all-trans beta-carotene. From these results it can be concluded that the 13-cis isomer was more susceptible to isomerization than was the 9-cis beta-carotene, because the latter could be isomerized into all-trans, but not into 13-cis beta-carotene, while the 13-cis can be either modified to 9-cis or to all-trans beta-carotene.
beta-carotene; isomers; re-isomerization; carotenoids
