A carotenoid and a terpenoid in therapeutically-effective amounts is disclosed such that, upon ingestion in one preparation, or in two separated preparations, simultaneous or sequentially, and upon metabolism, the activity of natural killer (NK) cells is elevated. Specifically, the composition comprises lycopene and resveratrol in the range of 1:10 to 10:1 by molar； more preferably 1:1 to 3:1 by molar, and most preferably at 3:1. Alternatively, the preferred ratio may be expressed as 1:4 to 25:1 by weight； more preferably 2½:1 to 7½:1 by weight, and most preferably at 7½:1. The composition may be formulated for oral intake as a pharmaceutical, dietary supplement or food product and provided in therapeutically effective amounts to a mammal, preferably in a dosage of about 3.5 mg per day per 20 g of a mammalian body mass in a ratio of 2½:1 by weight, which can be translated to about 400 mg to 1000 mg per day for a typical human in need of elevating NK cell activity. Preferably, the therapeutically-effective aspect of the composition includes its metabolically-producing agents, prodrugs, metabolites or intermediate compounds useful in triggering NK cells into cytotoxic or cytolytic response.本發明揭示了將一種類胡蘿蔔素和一種萜類化合物，或者合在一起或者獨立製備，以治療劑量同時攝入或先後分開攝入體內，經過代謝後協同作用發揮提升自然殺手(NK)細胞活性的作用。該發明特指由茄紅素和白藜蘆醇以莫耳比1：10到10：1的比例進行混合，更佳莫耳比範圍為1：1到3：1，最佳比為3：1。用重量比來表示，合適的比例範圍為1：4到25：1，更佳範圍為2½：1到7½：1，最佳比例為7½：1。混合物可製備成口服的藥用型、膳食補充劑型或食品型產品，提供給哺乳動物的典型劑量為每20g體重3.5mg(重量比為2½：1的複合物)，在這個劑量下可以有效提升NK細胞的活性，而對應的一個典型成人的服用劑量可以換算定為400mg到1000mg。同時，複合物的治療效應是通過代謝產生的化學物質，藥物前體，代謝產物或代謝中間體來實現，由它們幫助啟動NK細胞活性。
