{"doi":"10.20935/acadnutr7763","title":"Effects of prenatal carotenoid supplementation on maternal and infant health outcomes: a scoping review","abstract":"<jats:p xml:lang=\"en\">Proper nutrition during pregnancy plays a vital role in maternal well-being, pregnancy outcomes, fetal development, and the long-term health of offspring. Research indicates that carotenoids are essential for improving pregnancy outcomes and preventing pregnancy-related conditions associated with elevated oxidative stress. This study aimed to assess the effects of prenatal carotenoid supplementation on maternal and infant health outcomes from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A total of 11 peer-reviewed RCTs from nine studies conducted in diverse geographic settings were analyzed using databases such as EBSCOhost and PubMed. These trials investigated different carotenoids, including beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene, with considerable variation in dosage and duration of supplementation. The outcomes evaluated included maternal and infant carotenoid and retinol concentrations, maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, incidence of preeclampsia, birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and cytokine production. Supplementation with beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin during pregnancy led to significant increases in maternal and infant plasma retinol and/or carotenoid concentrations. Beta-carotene supplementation had no significant impact on infant mortality or morbidity, while the effects on maternal mortality and morbidity were inconsistent across studies. Lycopene showed potential in reducing intrauterine growth retardation, though its effects on preeclampsia varied. While prenatal carotenoid supplementation demonstrated promising effects on certain maternal and infant health outcomes, the findings were inconsistent. Further research, including a meta-analysis, is recommended to better understand the role of carotenoids in maternal and infant health.</jats:p>","journal":"Academia Nutrition and Dietetics","year":2025,"id":645696,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":0,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":527378,"name":"Libo Tan","orcid":"0000-0001-7374-9942","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1422946,"name":"Sayma Alam","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Effects of prenatal carotenoid supplementation on maternal and infant health outcomes: a scoping review","abstract":"<jats:p xml:lang=\"en\">Proper nutrition during pregnancy plays a vital role in maternal well-being, pregnancy outcomes, fetal development, and the long-term health of offspring. Research indicates that carotenoids are essential for improving pregnancy outcomes and preventing pregnancy-related conditions associated with elevated oxidative stress. This study aimed to assess the effects of prenatal carotenoid supplementation on maternal and infant health outcomes from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A total of 11 peer-reviewed RCTs from nine studies conducted in diverse geographic settings were analyzed using databases such as EBSCOhost and PubMed. These trials investigated different carotenoids, including beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene, with considerable variation in dosage and duration of supplementation. The outcomes evaluated included maternal and infant carotenoid and retinol concentrations, maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, incidence of preeclampsia, birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and cytokine production. Supplementation with beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin during pregnancy led to significant increases in maternal and infant plasma retinol and/or carotenoid concentrations. Beta-carotene supplementation had no significant impact on infant mortality or morbidity, while the effects on maternal mortality and morbidity were inconsistent across studies. Lycopene showed potential in reducing intrauterine growth retardation, though its effects on preeclampsia varied. While prenatal carotenoid supplementation demonstrated promising effects on certain maternal and infant health outcomes, the findings were inconsistent. Further research, including a meta-analysis, is recommended to better understand the role of carotenoids in maternal and infant health.</jats:p>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"19910364","pmcid":null,"openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W4411240914","authors":[],"funders":[],"total_grants":0,"fwci":0.0,"citation_percentile":0.10361694,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[],"oa_status":"gold","license":"cc-by","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://doi.org/10.20935/acadnutr7763","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.20935/acadnutr7763","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://www.academia.edu/129914134/Effects_of_prenatal_carotenoid_supplementation_on_maternal_and_infant_health_outcomes_a_scoping_review","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doaj.org/article/75a9418c90944c6989c5f72b161bce1c","host_type":"repository"}],"fields_of_study":["Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress","Birth, Development, and Health","Pregnancy and preeclampsia studies"],"mesh_terms":[],"keywords":["Carotenoid","Medicine","Environmental health","Pediatrics","Psychology","Biology","Food science"],"sdg_mappings":[],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-09T09:49:52.322904Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}