Abstract: Objective: This study aimed at the observation of carotenoid accumulation in rat serum after single feed of the extract. Method: 80 SD male rats were selected and divided randomly into 8 groups (10 rats/group). The mixture (1 ml, 5.25 mg total carotenoid/ml) of soybean oil and the extract was administrated by gavage. Blood was collected at fixed time from a group. The total carotenoids were extracted from the serum by methanol and hexane successively. The extracts were analyzed by C18-HPLC-PDA. Results: Serum lycopene is detected after 0.5 h, and its content reaches the maximum after 3 h. After 12 h, serum lycopene content dropps down to the same level as that at the 0.5th h. The ratio of lycopene content by gastric administration to maximum lycopene content (at the 3th h) in serum is 15441 : 1. The accumulation of β-carotene in serum shows a similar variation.

Key words: lycopene, serum accumulation, HLPC