Stable and fat-soluble forms of lutein esters have increasingly been of interest as ingredients of dietary supplements and dietary functional foods due to their purported role in helping maintain eye health, antioxidant balance, and wellness. As with most bioactive compounds, a greater interest has been pointed towards the metabolism of lutein esters by the body, and more specifically, in line with the functionality of the liver. Liver is an important organ that processes nutrients, dietary fats, and xenobiotics; thus, it is relevant to determine whether these lutein esters or not have any significant impact on the liver's performance or the health of the liver.
How Lutein Esters Are Metabolized?
Lutein esters are mainly obtained from marigold flowers (Tagetes erecta) and are fatty-acid complexes of lutein molecules. After consumption, these esters are broken down in the small intestine through digestive enzymes to give free lutein, which is subsequently broken down into micelles, together with dietary lipids. The ingested lutein is transported through the lymphatic system and also into the bloodstream through the chylomicrons, which then reach the different body tissues, including the liver.
In the liver, the lutein is absorbed into the lipoproteins like HDL and LDL in the body. Notably, all signs are lacking that the liver bears some metabolic burden of digesting lutein esters. This qualifies lutein esters as a convenient and safe component to be used over the long term in nutritional formulations.
Hepatoprotective Potential of Lutein Esters
Despite the fact that the main use of lutein is to maintain vision and healthy skin, new evidence shows its antioxidant effects in the liver. It is known that the liver is a region of high metabolic rates and hence is sensitive to oxidative insult, particularly during inadequate diets or environmental contact.
The liberation of lutein in the form of lutein esters can be used for scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protection of cellular antioxidant secrets, especially in hepatic cells. Such a step will possibly contribute to the reduction of lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress-induced loss of balance in liver metabolism. Dietary supplementation with lutein has been shown in animal studies to assist in maintaining normal levels of liver enzymes as well as normal lipid profiles, but there have been limited human studies on the specific effects of lutein esters and their role in liver function.
Application in Product Development
Lutein esters provide formulation potential to manufacturers in the nutraceutical, functional food, and health beverage industries because they are more stable, bioavailable, and fat-soluble. Regulatory and safety-wise, Lutein esters have been named GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) and are used as a main ingredient in formulations focused on eye protection, oxidative balance, and general health.
During the design of products for adult consumers, particularly those who have been subjected to the urban lifestyle, processed diets, or air pollution, integrated antioxidant complexes having lutein esters will be one of the strategies in encouraging liver-healthy products without having to resort to the use of aggressive detox compounds. In addition, the compatibility of lutein esters with lipid-based delivery vehicles (e.g., softgels, emulsions) is promoting their absorption and formulation flexibility.
Safety and Recommended Usage
Various safety tests have shown that lutein esters are not toxic even when used as regular supplements. EFSA and other governments have acknowledged their safe application in food items and dietary supplements. Total daily consumption of 20 mg of lutein (as lutein esters or free form) is usually not harmful to healthy adults.
Do Lutein Esters Affect the Liver?
The lutein esters do not adversely impact the status of the liver when they are given in an appropriate dosage; in other words, they can be indirectly pro-hepatic due to their antioxidant constitution. Lutein esters are an interesting ingredient choice by buyers and formulators of eye health, systemic oxidative balance, and general wellness products with no hepatic safety concerns. However, despite the fact that they still need to be better defined according to human effects on liver parameters in specific, currently there are no relevant reasons to not use them as a safe and multi-formulated compound in the more mature production of nutraceuticals.
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FAQ
1. Are lutein esters safe for the liver?
Indeed, the existing research suggests that lutein esters are benign and do not put the cardiac system under strain. They undergo metabolism effectively and do not form any toxic accumulation, and disturb the normal liver enzyme functioning.
2. Can lutein esters improve liver health?
Also, lutein esters, though not a supplement specific to the liver, might maintain the health of the liver, lowering oxidative stress, due to the antioxidant effect.
3. How are lutein esters processed by the body?
Lutein esters are hydrolyzed in the intestine after ingestion to free lutein, which can be absorbed into the system along with its distribution by means of lipoproteins, such as liver delivery.
4. Are lutein esters better than free lutein for absorption?
There have been studies that have demonstrated lutein ester to have similar or improved bioavailability in some lipid-enriched formulations and hence a favored solution when it comes to softgel and oil-based products.
References
1. Ma, L., Lin, X., & Zou, Z. (2021). Lutein and zeaxanthin intake and liver health: A review of current data. Nutrients, 13(3), 943.
2. EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS). (2010). Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of lutein esters (E161b) as a food additive. EFSA Journal, 8(9), 1678.
3. Johnson, E. J. (2014). Role of lutein and zeaxanthin in visual and cognitive function throughout the lifespan. Nutrition Reviews, 72(9), 605–612.
4. Reboul, E. (2015). Absorption of vitamin A and carotenoids by the enterocyte: Focus on transport proteins. Nutrients, 7(5), 3531–3551.
