A Case Report on Carotenoderma

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The authors report a case of a 58-year-old man who presented with orange discoloration of the palmar and dorsal hands bilaterally. Although his blood beta-carotene levels were normal, he had elevated levels of lycopene and beta-cryptoxanthin, two other carotenoids.
Lycopene is a carotenoid that is an isomer of beta-carotene found in tomatoes and tropical fruits. Elevated levels of lycopene can cause a rare variant of carotenemia. The patient admitted to consuming large quantities of watermelon and red grapefruit as part of a diet, and his skin discoloration completely resolved with diet modification.