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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
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Mediate photoinduced electron transfer to chlorophyll
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Quench singlet/triplet‐chlorophyll that can damage allied
tissues during very active photosynthesis
•
Two relevant carotenoid families
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Carotenes:
hydrocarbons (orange)
–
Xanthophylls
: hydroxylated carotenes (yellow)
•
Only xanthophylls of interest here. Dozens exist!
•
Often exists as fatty acid esters in nascent tissue