in oil, in individual foods, and as part of a mixed vegetable and fruit diet. Many of the earlier studies analyzed the fecal content of β-carotene after the consumption of a supplement, fruit, or vegetable. Data from these studies were not considered because the portion of unabsorbed β-carotene that is degraded by the intestinal microflora is not known. The efficiency of absorption of β-carotene in food is lower than the absorption of β-carotene in oil by a representative factor of a. Assuming that after absorption of β-carotene, whether from oil or food, the metabolism of the molecule is similar and that the retinol equivalency ratio of β-carotene in oil is 2:1, the vitamin A activity of β-carotene from food can be derived by multiplying a by 2:1.

Until recently it was thought that 3 μg of dietary β-carotene was equivalent to 1 μg of purified β-carotene in oil (NRC, 1989) due to a relative absorption efficiency of about 33 percent of β-carotene from food sources. Only one study has compared the relative absorption of β-carotene in oil versus its absorption in a principally mixed vegetable diet in healthy and nutritionally adequate individuals (Van het Hof et al., 1999). This study concluded that the relative absorption of β-carotene from the mixed vegetable diet compared to β-carotene in oil is only 14 percent, as assessed by the increase in plasma β-carotene concentration after dietary interven-