The application and market prospects of lutein in food processing

July 09, 2024

Lutein belongs to the class of carotenoids and is a natural pigment widely present in vegetables, fruits, flowers and other organisms, especially in marigold, which has the highest content. It is orange red or orange yellow, and the main components are lutein and zeaxanthin.

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01
The physicochemical properties and sources of lutein

Lutein has a molecular formula of C40H56O2 and a relative molecular weight of 568.87. Lutein is a powdered or yellow brown liquid of hesperidin, with a weak hay like odor. It is insoluble in water but soluble in propanol, methanol, isopropanol, and dichloroethane. It has good heat resistance.
Lutein is widely present in green vegetables. Among them, marigold has the highest content of lutein. According to the provisions of GB 26405-2011 National Food Safety Standard for Food Additive Lutein, the food additive lutein comes from marigold.

02
The function of lutein

1. Coloring function

Lutein has a good coloring effect due to its bright yellow color, insoluble in water, soluble in oil and ethanol, strong coloring power, light resistance, heat resistance, acid resistance, and alkali resistance. It can be widely used in pastries, candies, beverages, rice and flour products, as well as in the coloring of health products, tablets, sugar coatings, and capsules.

2. Protecting vision

In recent years, research has shown that lutein and zeaxanthin can prevent damage to a portion of the retinal membrane in the eyes caused by light, with two mechanisms.
(1) Lutein can filter high-energy visible blue light. There is experimental evidence that reducing the amount of blue light by 40% can greatly reduce the amount of free radicals on the retina.
(2) Lutein, as an antioxidant, can reduce the oxidative effect of light on the eyes and control the formation of active oxides and free radicals.

3. Antioxidant function

Lutein, as a type of carotene, contains multiple unsaturated double bonds and has a strong free radical scavenging effect, which can have antioxidant and anti-aging effects.

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The application of lutein

1. Application of Lutein in New Resource Food Processing

Lutein is used as a coloring agent in beverages and jellies. Orange juice drinks, dairy drinks, and carbonated drinks are added with lutein, and after 6 months of storage, the retention of lutein is above 90%.

2. The protective effect of lutein esters on the skin

There is evidence to suggest that long-term exposure to ultraviolet radiation can consume a significant amount of carotenoids (including lutein) in the skin. Skin exposed to UVA and UVB can cause cell-mediated inflammatory reactions due to the presence of reactive oxygen species, leading to erythema, swelling, and affecting aesthetics. Severe cases may even trigger skin cancer. Experiments have shown that lutein can exert a protective effect, mainly by absorbing blue light from ultraviolet radiation and clearing free radicals. Therefore, it can reduce the damage of ultraviolet radiation to the skin and protect the skin.

3. The effect of lutein esters on poultry colorants

Natural lutein esters have multiple carbon carbon double bond chromophores, exhibiting bright colors. The color of lutein esters with different contents varies significantly, with a wide range of colors from light yellow to red. Moreover, compared with free lutein, lutein esters have no active or radial groups at both ends, which determines that lutein esters can be used as stable coloring agents.

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Market Outlook

Lutein and zeaxanthin have been very active in the past 5 years. There are already many categories of products on the market that use lutein. The main driving factor of the lutein market is consumer attention to age-related diseases such as macular degeneration. However, more new studies have shown that lutein has applications in other health fields, such as brain health, exercise nutrition, skin health, and sleep management. These new findings will attract more attention from different groups of consumers to this raw material.

Shaanxi Huike Botanical Development Co., Ltd. a integrated enterprise which is focus on natural products, Plant extract related products and services.We mainly focus on pharmaceutical, functional food, Freeze-dried powder,Natural Pigment,Homology of medicine and food,beverages and other business services.
For more information about inulin, please contact us!

Email:marketing@huikes.com

2024-07-09

Shaanxi Huike Botanical Development Co., Ltd.

Author:

Ms. Anne

E-mail:

sales13@huikes.com

Phone/WhatsApp:

+8618591889792

The application and market prospects of lutein in food processing

01 The physicochemical properties and sources of lutein

02 The function of lutein