Marigold Extract (Lutein)

Marigold is the commercial source of lutein. Petals of Tagetes erecta L., the African or Aztec marigold grown at scale across India, are dried, pelleted and solvent-extracted to an oleoresin in which the xanthophylls sit as fatty-acid mono- and di-esters rather than as free lutein. Lutein itself (CAS 127-40-2, C40H56O2, molecular weight 568.9) is a dihydroxy carotenoid listed as food colour E 161b. Its positional isomer zeaxanthin (CAS 144-68-3, the same C40H56O2 formula, differing only in the placement of one double bond, food colour E 161h) occurs alongside it in the same petal and carries through into the extract. Three distinct articles come out of that oleoresin and they are not interchangeable. Ester-form marigold oleoresin serves applications where the ester is acceptable, principally poultry feed pigmentation and some colouring work. Saponified free-lutein concentrates are made by alkaline de-esterification followed by purification and are the basis of supplement-grade material at 70% to 80%-plus total carotenoid. Formulated grades are built for a dosage form and carry matrix, antioxidant and anticaking components: 5% and 10% beadlets, 10% and 20% cold-water-dispersible powders, and oil suspensions. Lutein-to-zeaxanthin ratios are produced to order. Fix the assay basis in the contract, because an ester-form figure converts to a materially lower free-lutein equivalent and specifications written on the wrong basis are a recurring source of dispute between buyer and supplier. Two commercial points deserve attention before an order is placed. The first is the matrix: gelatin-based beadlets are bovine or porcine and are neither vegan nor vegetarian, so vegan lines and lines sold into halal, Jain or vegetarian Hindu markets must be built on a modified-starch or gum acacia matrix, which we name on the datasheet. The second is stability: carotenoids are sensitive to light, oxygen, heat and trace metals, and a formulated grade performs only as well as its antioxidant system, so foil or blister packing and cool storage belong in the specification rather than in a footnote. The material is plant-derived and non-GMO; the botanical is an Asteraceae, which is not a regulated allergen but is worth flagging to buyers who screen for Compositae sensitivity. Brands position lutein and zeaxanthin in eye-health and nutricosmetic formats; Thovek supplies the ingredient to the agreed specification and makes no health claim on the buyer's behalf.