Vitamins & Minerals

β –Carotene, A Potent provitamin A Carotenoids in the Amelioration of the Effects of Heroin

Abstract

Prem Kishore Saha, Umesh C. Goswami and Swapan Kumar Dutta

β-Carotene, a potent provitamin A carotenoid having multifaceted physiological activities, could ameliorate the different types of abnormal behaviour in rats after the administration of heroin. The administration of different dosesof heroin, viz LD25, LD50 showed various degrees of abnormal conditions and behaviours such as depletion of body weight, retinol reserve, decrease of water intake, piloerection, drowsiness, wet shakes, restlessness and jumping etc.β-carotene accounts for the amelioration of the above conditions and abnormal behaviour to a certain extent alongwith restoration of the retinol level in the liver of albino rats receiving heroin of different doses.