Alpha-carotene
Alpha-carotene is an orange carotenoid found mostly in carrots, pumpkin, and winter squash. The body turns it into vitamin A, at half the yield of beta-carotene.
No set daily amount
24 µg from food gives 1 µg of vitamin A
Beta-carotene · 12 µg does the same; both count toward vitamin A
- Main sources Carrots then pumpkin and winter squash
- Raw carrot ~3,500µg per 100 g
- Supplements Mixed carotenoids rarely sold on its own
- In Caltide Not totaled yet included in vitamin A
Conversion factors: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Carrot figure: USDA FoodData Central.
Alpha-Carotene Food Sources
The Caltide food library does not list alpha-carotene yet, so these are the main sources by kind of food.
- Carrotsthe richest everyday source; orange carrots carry it next to beta-carotene
- Pumpkin and winter squashincluding canned pumpkin and butternut squash
- Red palm oilunrefined palm oil gets its color from alpha- and beta-carotene; refining removes them
- Green beans and peassmall amounts
- Supplementsmixed carotenoid products, which list alpha-carotene beside beta-carotene
What Is Alpha-Carotene?
Alpha-carotene and beta-carotene have the same formula and differ only at one end. Beta-carotene has a beta-ionone ring at both ends, and each ring can become one molecule of vitamin A. Alpha-carotene has that ring at only one end, so it can give at most half as much.
That is why the conversion factor doubles. From food, 12 µg of beta-carotene gives 1 µg of vitamin A as retinol activity equivalents (RAE), and it takes 24 µg of alpha-carotene to do the same. Beta-cryptoxanthin, the orange pigment in tangerines and papaya, has the same 24 to 1 factor for the same reason.
How Much of a Carrot's Vitamin A Comes From Alpha-Carotene
100 g of raw carrots holds about 8,285 µg of beta-carotene and about 3,500 µg of alpha-carotene. Divided by 12 and 24, that is about 690 µg and 145 µg of vitamin A: together the 835 µg that USDA lists for raw carrots. Alpha-carotene gives about a sixth of it.
Alpha-Carotene Supplements and Labels
Supplements are also a source, but alpha-carotene is almost never sold alone. It appears in mixed carotenoid products and in carotene extracts from palm oil, often counted inside a single vitamin A figure. To compare products, look for the amount of each carotenoid in µg, not only the vitamin A total.
Like other carotenoids, it dissolves in fat, so it is taken up best from cooked or pureed vegetables eaten with some oil, and from supplements taken with a meal.
Does Alpha-Carotene Have Health Benefits?
Alpha-carotene's one proven job is as a source of vitamin A. It has no daily amount of its own and no set upper limit, and the body converts less of it when vitamin A stores are full. No large trial has tested it on its own, so any benefit beyond vitamin A is unproven.
A common mistake: looking for it on a nutrition label. Food labels in the EU and the US do not list alpha-carotene; at most it is folded into a vitamin A figure.
Sources are listed at the end of this page. Not medical advice.
Alpha-carotene Sources and References
The figures and claims on this page are checked against these sources.
Questions About Alpha-carotene
Alpha-carotene is an orange carotenoid, a close relative of beta-carotene, that the body can turn into vitamin A. It is found mainly in carrots, pumpkin and winter squash.
It takes 24 µg of alpha-carotene from food to give 1 µg of vitamin A (RAE), twice as much as for beta-carotene, because only one end of the molecule can become vitamin A.
Carrots, pumpkin and winter squash such as butternut are the richest common foods. Red palm oil is also rich in it. Green beans and peas give small amounts.
No. Alpha-carotene has no daily amount of its own; it counts toward vitamin A, which adults need at 700 to 900 µg a day (US RDA). EU food labels use 800 µg as their reference.
Supplements are a source, but rarely on their own: alpha-carotene usually comes in mixed carotenoid products alongside beta-carotene, or in carotene extracts from palm oil. Check the label for the amount of each carotenoid, not only the vitamin A total.
That is not established. No large trials have tested alpha-carotene on its own, so any benefit beyond the vitamin A it supplies is unproven.
Not as its own total yet. For foods with USDA data, the vitamin A figure Caltide shows already includes what alpha-carotene contributes.
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