Stability of lutein under various storage conditions

Abstract

The stability of lutein, a major xanthophyll, was investigated under various storage conditions. Continuous exposure of lutein-containing samples to cold white fluorescent light (4600 lux) at 25°C resulted in the degradation of lutein at 0.8%-10.7% per day in the samples containing ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid + KOH and H2O (as control) over a period of 75 days. It was found that ascorbic acid could retard lutein degradation (0.04%-2.5% per day) at temperatures from -30°C to 50°C under the alkaline condition in darkness. High temperature promoted the degradation of lutein in all the samples. Under the alkaline condition and at low temperature (-12°C), the stability of pure lutein was similar to that of the lutein extracted from the alga Chlorella protothecoides cultivated heterotrophically.