{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T23:26:34Z","timestamp":1791588394897,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,16]],"date-time":"2020-06-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1592265600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In sub-Saharan Africa, vitamin A deficiency constitutes a severe health problem despite various supplementation and food fortification programs. Given that the intake of preformed vitamin A from animal products remains low in these countries, an efficient metabolization of plant-based provitamin A carotenoids is essential. Previously, adolescents in rural Ghana have shown high total plasma carotenoid concentrations, while 36% had a vitamin A deficiency (defined as plasma retinol &lt; 0.7 \u00b5mol\/L). Hence, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify the relationships between variants in the \u03b2-carotene 15,15\u2019-oxygenase (BCO1) gene and plasma carotenoid concentrations among 189 15-year-old girls and boys in rural Ghana. BCO1 rs6564851, rs7500996, rs10048138 and PKD1L2 rs6420424, and rs8044334 were typed, and carotenoid concentrations were compared among the different genotypes. G allele carriers of rs6564851 (53%) showed higher plasma carotenoid concentrations than T allele carriers (median (interquartile range): 3.07 (2.17\u20134.02) vs. 2.59 (2.21\u20133.50) \u00b5mol\/L, p-value = 0.0424). This was not explained by differences in socio-demographic or dietary factors. In contrast, no differences in plasma retinol concentrations were observed between these genotypes. Pending verification in independent populations, the low conversion efficiency of provitamin A carotenoids among rs6564851 G allele carriers may undermine existing fortification and supplementation programs to improve the vitamin A status in sub-Saharan Africa.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu12061786","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,16]],"date-time":"2020-06-16T13:20:43Z","timestamp":1592313643000},"page":"1786","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["SNP rs6564851 in the BCO1 Gene Is Associated with Varying Provitamin a Plasma Concentrations but Not with Retinol Concentrations among Adolescents from Rural Ghana"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Sophie","family":"Gra\u00dfmann","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), 14558 Nuthetal, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3583-8546","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olga","family":"Pivovarova-Ramich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Group Molecular Nutritional Medicine, Department of Molecular Toxicology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), 14558 Nuthetal, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, 13125 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), 85764 Munich-Neuherberg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Henze","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Junior Research Group ProAID, Institute of Nutritional Science, Potsdam University, 14558 Nuthetal, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jens","family":"Raila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physiology and Pathophysiology of Nutrition, Institute of Nutrition Science, Potsdam University, 14558 Nuthetal, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yaw","family":"Ampem Amoako","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), P.O. Box 1934 Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Richard","family":"King Nyamekye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, P.O. Box 27 Agogo, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Bedu-Addo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), P.O. Box 1934 Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Frank","family":"Mockenhaupt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0830-5277","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matthias","family":"Schulze","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), 14558 Nuthetal, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ina","family":"Danquah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), 14558 Nuthetal, Germany"},{"name":"Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), Universitaetsklinikum Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (WHO) (2019, August 26). 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