The carotenoid pigment zeaxanthin - A review

Scientific evidence linking several diseases with diet has brought to light the beneficial effects of a number of natural food ingredients. Zeaxanthin is one such natural pigment emphasized for its critical role in the prevention of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness. The review highlights zeaxanthin as a carotenoid pigment with promising nutraceutical implications, and enumerates the important plant and microbial sources for its production, the absorptive pathway of zeaxanthin in human system, and methods to assess its bioavailability besides other relevant aspects.