Beta-Cryptoxanthin

β-Cryptoxanthin

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Osteoporosis risk¹ Hip fracture risk¹ Bone turnover markers² Cholesterol with phytosterols² Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease³ Arterial stiffness⁴ Stress response⁵ Lung cancer risk⁶	Soy allergy⁷ Fish allergy⁷ Surgery within two weeks⁷

Beta-cryptoxanthin is an oxygenated carotenoid abundant in citrus, notably Satsuma mandarin, and acts as an antioxidant. Other uses include arterial health, cholesterol and bone turnover in postmenopausal women, liver fat in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and stress response.

The bone evidence rests on observational studies, so causality is unconfirmed¹. A randomized crossover trial in postmenopausal women found changes in cholesterol and bone turnover markers only when beta-cryptoxanthin was combined with phytosterols². A randomized trial in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease found improved liver enzymes and steatosis when it was added to a hypocaloric high-protein diet³. In healthy women, a 2023 placebo-controlled trial found supplementation raised plasma beta-cryptoxanthin, was well tolerated, and left other carotenoids unchanged⁸. About 530 products list beta-cryptoxanthin, mostly multivitamins; see Form comparison.

Per product labels, most of these multivitamins carry soy and fish allergen declarations⁷ and ask that use stop before surgery⁷. In vitro, it weakly inhibited one cytochrome P450 enzyme only at concentrations well above human blood levels⁹.

Last updated October 17, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

31 sources, 23 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources