SPDS Meeting Book

Stakeholder panel on dietary supplements Background & Fitness for Purpose Lutein, esters, congeners & metabolites

Rick Myers, PhD AOAC Annual Meeting Log Angeles, CA 25 September 2015

Background on analytes • Carotenoids are a diverse family of botanical pigments • Minimal biosynthesis in animals; so must derive from diet • Botanical function – Mediate photoinduced electron transfer to chlorophyll – Quench singlet/triplet‐chlorophyll that can damage allied tissues during very active photosynthesis • Two relevant carotenoid families – Carotenes: hydrocarbons (orange) – Xanthophylls : hydroxylated carotenes (yellow) • Only xanthophylls of interest here.  Dozens exist! • Often exists as fatty acid esters in nascent tissue