Lutein

Broadly speaking, lutein refers to the carotenoid lutein family, which includes lutein, zeaxanthin, and mesozeaxanthin. Although their names are different, they are essentially all part of the lutein family and can be converted into each other and exist in certain proportions. The main industrial source of natural lutein is the extraction and saponification of lutein esters from Tagetes erecta flowers to obtain lutein monomers.

Lutein, a naturally occurring plant pigment with multiple biological activities, has been widely used in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. However, due to the unsaturated structure of most of the lutein molecules, its water solubility and stability are poor, making it easily degraded and inactive. Moreover, its poor oral bioavailability greatly limits its effectiveness. Therefore, 1 gram of lutein is worth as much as 1 gram of gold, earning it the nickname "plant gold."

Lutein is a carotenoid that has anti-inflammatory properties. Lutein has several beneficial effects, especially for eye health.

Prevention of obesity-related diseases:
Lutein can inhibit the proliferation and differentiation of preadipocytes and play a role in lipid lowering. Specifically, it inhibits the activity of the transcription factor peroxisome proliferator activating receptor-γ (PPARγ), which is responsible for activating fat cells. Activation of PPARγ down-regulates the expression of inflammatory factors such as TNF-α, LP, and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and induces the expression of adiponectin (an adipokine that sensitivities liver and muscle to insulin), thereby regulating insulin sensitivity, intervening in adipocyte differentiation, and playing a lipid-lowering role.

Improve visual function in people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and healthy people:
Lutein is the main carotenoid in macula, which can filter the blue light entering the retina of human eye to a certain extent, effectively reduce visual damage, and inhibit the activity of oxygen free radicals to prevent the destruction of oxygen free radicals on visual cells. The exact cause of AMD is unknown, and may be related to genetic, long-term light impairment, metabolic and nutritional dysfunction. Lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation can improve early functional abnormalities of the central retina in patients with early AMD.

Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in healthy people:
Lutein has good antioxidant capacity and can effectively inhibit oxidative stress in the process of atherosclerosis, thus reducing inflammation and reducing oxidative damage of tissue cells. High lutein intake, blood or adipose tissue levels of lutein are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Alleviating UV-induced skin damage in normal people:
Lutein has the function of antioxidant and inhibition of lipoxygenase, which can reduce erythema, aging, skin burns and even skin cancer caused by ultraviolet radiation on the skin.

Coloring for egg yolks, poultry and chicken feed:
Lutein has strong coloring power, which can increase the hatching of eggs and increase the reproductive rate of birds. In many countries and regions of the world, especially in the United States and many Asian countries, consumers, due to habits and psychological effects, most people prefer golden or orange-red egg yolks, like birds with golden skin, soft red meat, and often judge the nutritional value and freshness of eggs from the color of the yolk. According to experience, consumers regard yellow skin as a sign of better meat quality and flavor of broiler chickens, which directly affects the price of products. Therefore, in the modern poultry industry, feed companies in order to meet the needs of the market, often add a large amount of synthetic commercial colorants in feed, which not only greatly increases the cost, but also is adverse to human health, so lutein is a natural pigment without side effects, which can color egg yolks, poultry and chicken feed. Because its safety and nutritional functions meet the needs of the market, it is widely used in feed coloring in various countries.

Anti-cancer function:
Lutein is a carotenoid, has special physiological activity, can inhibit the growth of human tumors, can resist a variety of cancers, such as skin cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and so on.

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Factors affecting stability

Breath
Because lutein contains many unsaturated double bonds, and both violonone rings are attached to hydroxyl groups, the most common reason for the degradation of lutein is oxidation. During the drying process of fruits and vegetables, lutein is exposed to air, which may oxidize, leading to isomerization of lutein. It has been found that in addition to the most basic epoxidation and hydroxylation during the processing of lutein, the direct fracture of the polyene chain of lutein will also form a colorless small molecule compound, and the biological activity of lutein will also be lost.

temperature
Under heat treatment, the cell wall and membrane of spinach will be destroyed, prompting the digestion of lutein, and the all-trans conformation will be partially transformed into cis-structure (9-cis-lutein and 13-cis-lutein), which will decrease its stability, resulting in the degradation of lutein and the decrease of biological activity.

pH
Under different pH conditions, lutein will produce different changes. Under extreme pH values below 4.0 or above 8.0, lutein will undergo de-esterification and cis-trans isomerization, resulting in degradation of lutein, so lutein is suitable for preservation and reaction under neutral conditions.

illumination
Light has an obvious degradation effect on lutein, which is because light accelerates the oxidation of lutein molecular chain, the color carrier degrades and breaks, forming low molecular weight compounds, making lutein lose its color. At the same time, the conjugated polyene chain of lutein deprotonates, loses electrons, and the stability of lutein decreases.