Radiomodifying efficiency of short-term and chronic medicinal and treatment-prophylactic enrichment of rations with artificial beta-carotene, administered at single doses of 0.1-10.0 mg, were studied after acute external gamma-irradiation of adult nonlinear and Wistar rats (0.029 Gy/s) or female SBA mice (0.0037 Gy/s), where the absorbed dose was equal to 8-3 Gy or 9.9-9.5 Gy, respectively. Suspension of beta-carotene paste in olive oil accelerated death of rats irradiated at doses of 8 and 7 Gy (P = 0.04), and shortened their lifespan. At a dose of 6 Gy single and long-term enrichment of rations with beta-carotene decreased the rate of rat death within 30 days from 33.3% to 16.7% (P = 0.14) and 3.3% (P = 0.01), while their life time was increased from 48 days to 67 days (P = 0.05) and 508 days (P = 0.01). beta-Carotene was found to affect favourably the radiation-induced (5 Gy) leukocytopenia, and decreased thymus mass (6 Gy) and body weight (8 Gy). In treatment-prophylactic enrichment with beta-carotene of mice (9.9 Gy) ration their survival was increased from 15% to 30% and lifespan from 14.4 days to 28.9 days (P = 0.05). During medicinal or treatment-prophylactic courses of beta-carotene death of mice (9.7 Gy) was decreased from 75% to 35% (P = 0.01) or 60% and life time was increased from 16.7 days to 22.17 days or 39.9 days (P = 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)