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Zeaxanthin

 

 
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Zeaxanthin
 
 
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Zeaxanthin is one of the two carotenoid
Carotenoid

Carotenoids are organic compound pigments that are naturally occurring in chromoplasts of plants and some other photosynthesis organisms like algae, some types of fungus and some bacterium....
s contained within the retina
Retina

The vertebrate retina is a light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera....
 of the eye
Eye

Eyes are Organ that detect light, and send signals along the optic nerve to the visual system and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system....
. Within the central macula
Macula

The macula or macula lutea is an oval-shaped highly pigmented yellow spot near the center of the retina of the human eye. It has a diameter of around 5 mm and is often histologically defined as having two or more layers of ganglion cells....
, zeaxanthin is the dominant component, whereas in the peripheral retina, lutein
Lutein

Lutein is one of over 600 known naturally occurring carotenoids. Found in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, lutein is employed by organisms as an antioxidant and for blue light absorption....
 predominates.

As a food additive
Food additive

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or improve its taste and appearance.Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling , edible salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines....
, zeaxanthin is a food dye with E number
E number

E numbers are number codes for food additives and are usually found on food labels throughout the European Union. The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System as determined by the Codex Alimentarius committee....
 E161h.

Isomers
Lutein and zeaxanthin have identical chemical formulas and are isomer
Isomer

In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulae. Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties unless they also have the same functional groups....
s, but they are not stereoisomers. The main difference between them is in the location of a double bond in one of the end rings.






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Encyclopedia


Zeaxanthin is one of the two carotenoid
Carotenoid

Carotenoids are organic compound pigments that are naturally occurring in chromoplasts of plants and some other photosynthesis organisms like algae, some types of fungus and some bacterium....
s contained within the retina
Retina

The vertebrate retina is a light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera....
 of the eye
Eye

Eyes are Organ that detect light, and send signals along the optic nerve to the visual system and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system....
. Within the central macula
Macula

The macula or macula lutea is an oval-shaped highly pigmented yellow spot near the center of the retina of the human eye. It has a diameter of around 5 mm and is often histologically defined as having two or more layers of ganglion cells....
, zeaxanthin is the dominant component, whereas in the peripheral retina, lutein
Lutein

Lutein is one of over 600 known naturally occurring carotenoids. Found in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, lutein is employed by organisms as an antioxidant and for blue light absorption....
 predominates.

As a food additive
Food additive

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or improve its taste and appearance.Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling , edible salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines....
, zeaxanthin is a food dye with E number
E number

E numbers are number codes for food additives and are usually found on food labels throughout the European Union. The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System as determined by the Codex Alimentarius committee....
 E161h.

Isomers


Lutein and zeaxanthin have identical chemical formulas and are isomer
Isomer

In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulae. Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties unless they also have the same functional groups....
s, but they are not stereoisomers. The main difference between them is in the location of a double bond in one of the end rings. This difference gives lutein three chiral
Chirality (chemistry)

The term chiral is used to describe an object that is non-Superposition on its mirror image.Human hands are perhaps the most universally recognized example of chirality: The left hand is a non-superposable mirror image of the right hand; no matter how the two hands are oriented, it is impossible for all the major features of both hands...
 centers whereas zeaxanthin has two. Because of symmetry, the (3R,3'S) and (3S,3'R) stereoisomers of zeaxanthin are identical. Therefore, zeaxanthin has only three stereoisomeric forms. The (3R,3'S) stereoisomer is called meso-zeaxanthin.

The principal natural form of zeaxanthin is (3R,3'R)-zeaxanthin. The macula mainly contains the (3R,3'R)- and meso-zeaxanthin forms, but it also contains much smaller amounts of the third (3S,3'S) form.

Relationship with diseases of the eye


There is epidemiological
Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine....
 evidence of a relationship between low plasma
Blood plasma

Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. It makes up about 55% of total blood volume. It is composed of mostly water , and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, Hormone and carbon dioxide ....
 concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin on the one hand, and the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) on the other. Some studies support the view that supplemental lutein and/or zeaxanthin help protect against AMD. There is also epidemiological evidence that increasing lutein and zeaxanthin intake lowers the risk of cataract
Cataract

A cataract is a clouding that develops in the lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete Opacity and obstructing the passage of light....
 development.

In 2007, in a 6-year study, John Paul SanGiovanni of the National Eye Institute
National Eye Institute

The National Eye Institute is one of the United States National Institutes of Health that was established in 1968. The mission of NEI is to prolong and protect the vision of the American people....
, Maryland
Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....
 found that lutein and zeaxanthin (nutrients in eggs
Egg (food)

An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves....
, spinach
Spinach

Spinach is a flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm....
 and other green vegetables) protect against blindness
Blindness

Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define "blindness." Total blindness is the complete lack of form and visual light perception and is clinically recorded as "NLP," an abbreviation for "no ligh...
 (macular degeneration
Macular degeneration

File:Human eye cross-sectional view grayscale.pngFile:Human eyesight two children and ball normal vision.jpgFile:Human eyesight two children and ball with age-related macular degeneration.jpg...
), affecting 1.2 million Americans
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, mostly after age 65. Lutein and zeaxanthin reduce the risk of AMD. Foods considered good sources of the nutrients also include kale
Kale

Kale or Borecole is a form of cabbage , green in color, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms....
, turnip
Turnip

The turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender, varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as fodder for livestock....
 greens
Greens

Greens may refer to:* Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc.* Green politics * Green party -- with a list and description and links for the Green parties in different countries....
, collard greens, romaine lettuce
Romaine lettuce

Romaine or cos lettuce is a variety of lettuce which grows in a long head of sturdy leaves with a firm rib down the center. Unlike most lettuces, it is tolerant of heat....
, broccoli
Broccoli

Broccoli is a plant of the cabbage family Brassicaceae .It is classified as the Italica cultivar group of the species Brassica oleracea. Broccoli possesses abundant arboreal, luscious, fleshy, flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like fashion on branches sprouting from a thick, edible, sturdy, meaty stalk....
, zucchini
Zucchini

Zucchini or courgette is a small summer squash. Along with some other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. The zucchini can be yellow, green or light green, and generally has a similar shape to a ridged cucumber, though a few cultivars are available that produce round or bottle-shaped fruit....
, corn
Corn

Corn may refer to:...
, garden
Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials....
 peas
PEAS

P.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors....
, swiss chard and Brussels sprouts.

Natural occurrence

Zeaxanthin is one of the most common carotenoid alcohols found in nature. It is the pigment that gives paprika (made from bell peppers), corn
Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
, saffron
Saffron

Saffron is a spice derived from the dried gynoecium of the flower of the saffron crocus , a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. The flower has three Carpels, which are the anatomical terms of location ends of the plant's carpels....
, and many other plants their characteristic color. Zeaxanthin breaks down to form picrocrocin
Picrocrocin

Picrocrocin is a monoterpene glycoside precursor of safranal.During the drying process picrocrocin liberates the aglycone due to Glucosidase action which is then transformed to safranal by dehydration....
 and safranal
Safranal

Safranal is an organic compound isolated from saffron, the spice consisting of the carpel of crocus flowers . It is the constituent primarily responsible for the aroma of saffron....
, which are responsible for the taste and aroma of saffron.

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