Fig. 1

Radiation effects on the level of main carotenoids in human blood. a Concentration of lycopene according to radiation dose at each time point. Values are given as mean ± SE of 10 donors. b Structure ratio of lycopene (cis/trans) according to radiation dose. The ratio was constant between the different radiation doses. c Concentration of β-carotene according to radiation dose at each time point. Values are given as mean ± SE of 10 donors. a: different from baseline P < 0.05, b: different from washout P < 0.05 by Bonferroni/Dunn test. Concentrations of carotenoids after each period did not differ significantly by radiation (1a, 1c)