Oral Intake of Lumisterol Affects the Metabolism of Vitamin D
Julia Kotwan, Mol Nutr food res 01 June 2021
The treatment of food with UV-B light to increase the vitamin D content is accompanied by the formation of photoisomers, such as lumisterol2. The physiological impact of photoisomers is largely unknown.
Methods and results
In the first study, three groups of C57Bl/6 mice were fed diets containing 50 μg/kg deuterated vitamin D3 with 0 μg/kg, 50 μg/kg (moderate-dose) or 2000 μg/kg (high-dose) lumisterol2 for 4 weeks. Considerable quantities of lumisterol2 and vitamin D2 were found in the plasma and tissues of mice fed 2000 μg/kg lumisterol2 but not in those fed 0 or 50 μg/kg lumisterol2. Mice fed 2000 μg/kg lumisterol2 had strongly reduced deuterated 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (-50%) and calcitriol (-80%) levels in plasma, accompanied by downregulated Cyp27b1 and upregulated Cyp24a1 in the kidneys. Increased tissue levels of vitamin D2 were also seen in mice in a second study that were kept on a diet with 0.2% UV-B-exposed yeast versus those fed 0.2% untreated yeast containing iso-amounts of vitamin D2 .
Conclusion
High doses of lumisterol2 can enter the body, induce the formation of vitamin D2, reduce the levels of 25(OH)D3 and calcitriol and strongly impact the expression of genes involved in the degradation and synthesis of bioactive vitamin D.