Abstract

To determine vitamin A and E intakes and their food sources, dietary intakes were collected by three consecutive 24-hour recalls from 192 adults living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, Korea. The mean vitamin A, retinol and ${\beta}$-carotene intakes were $1240.1{\pm}1101.1\;{\mu}g$ retinol equivalent/day ($693.3{\pm}563.2\;{\mu}g$ retinol activity equivalent/day), $182.6{\pm}149.5\;{\mu}g$/day and $5443.3{\pm}6365.5\;{\mu}g$/day, respectively. Only 9.4% of the subjects consumed less than the Korean Estimated Average Requirement for vitamin A. The mean vitamin E intake was $6.03{\pm}2.54\;mg$ ${\alpha}$-tocopherol equivalent/day. The ${\alpha}$-tocopherol and ${\gamma}$-tocopherol intakes were $4.83{\pm}2.03$ and $5.57{\pm}3.41\;mg$/day, respectively. Most of the subjects (93.8%) consumed less than the Korean Adequate Intake for vitamin E. The major food sources of vitamin A were sweet potato, carrot, red pepper powder, spinach, and citrus fruit, and the top 30 foods provided 91.5% of total Plant foods provided 81.0% and animalderived foods 10.5% of the vitamin A intake from the top 30 foods. The major food sources of vitamin E were soybean oil, red pepper powder, Ramyeon (cup noodles), spinach, and egg. The top 30 foods provided 78.0% of total vitamin E intake. Plant foods provided 61.3% and animal-derived foods 15.9% of the vitamin E intake from the top 30 foods. In conclusion, the vitamin A intake of the Korean adults in this study was ge-nerally adequate, but the vitamin E intake of many subjects was inadequate. Therefore, nutritional education may be of benefit to Korean adults to increase their vitamin E intake.

Keywords

• vitamin A intake;
• vitamin E intake;
• carotenoids;
• tocopherols;
• food sources