Abstract: ObjectiveTo estimate dietary intake of carotenoids among some adults from different communities of China.MethodsOne hundred and eighty four 30~60 years old adults(84 males and 100 females)from a urban community,a suburban community and a rural community were recruited into a dietinvestigation,in which the diets of continuous 3 days were recorded in summer,autumn,winter and spring within a year.The dietary records were used to calculate intakes of carotenoids (β-carotene,α-carotene,β-cryptoxanthin,lycopene,and lutein/zeax anthin),based on three USA carotenoids databases,the 1993 United States Depar tment of Agriculture-National Cancer Institute(USDA-NCI)Carotenoid Database,the 1998 United States Depar tment of Agriculture-Nutrition Coor dinating Center(USDA-NCC)Carotenoid Database for US Food,and the USDA national nutrient database for standard reference(SR18).ResultsThe calculated average daily intake of A-carotene of all subjects in a year was(274±539)μg,with seasonal values were(179±459)μg inspring,(291±493)/μg in summer,(325±533)μg in autumn,and(291±650)Lg in winter,respectively.The calculated average daily intake of B-carotene were(3 207±3 921)μg in a year,and seasonal values were(3 905±3 983),(2509±2697),(3 577±4 640),and(3 007±4 189)μg respectively.That of β-cryptoxanthin were(140±582)/μg,as well as(40±100),(82±256),(376±1 114),(70±125)μg respectively.And that of lycopene were(1 023±2 447),(971±1 539),(2 184±3 565),(324±1 543), (390±1 622)μg,respectively.The average lutein/zeaxanthin intake was(2937+4512)μg per day,and seasonal levels were (5 053±6 908),(1 930±2 228),(2 556±3 746),and(2 510±3 703)μg respectively.The highest β-caro tene and lutein/zeax anthin intake occurred in spring,and the highest α-carotene and β-cryptox anthin intake occurred in autumn,the high-estly copene intake in summer.There was no significant difference between males and females(P>0.05).The subjects from the urban co mmunity consumed more carotenoids than those from the suburb and the rural communities.The 40~49 years group had highest intake of caro tenoids except β-carotene and lutein/zeax anthin,while 30~39 years group had lowest except α-carotene.ConclusionThe dietary intakes of caro tenoids of 184 Chinese adult residents at seasons around a year are estimated by computing metho d based on the dietary records and the USA carotenoids databases.