Carotenoids: Dietary sources, health functions, biofortification, marketing trend and affecting factors – A review

Abstract

Nutritional deficiency is becoming a universal problem, resulting in poor health, low worker productivity, high rates of mortality and morbidity. Large-scale dietary improvements are needed to deliver a healthy, and sustainable diet to the increasing world population. Fruits and vegetables as well as their valorized wastes and industrial by-products constitute the major dietary sources of bioactive compounds, including carotenoids. Carotenoids are lipophilic pigments that occur widely in nature and are distributed in plants, fish, birds, algae, archaea, yeasts, fungi, bacteria, and invertebrate animals (such as insects, mites, aphids). The most significant aspects of carotenoids in the human diet are the antioxidant and provitamin A activities, and also the color that they impart to our food. The most researched carotenoids in diets and commonly occurring in the blood are β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein and α-carotene, with β-carotene comprising the major portion of pro-vitamin A. Phytoene and phytofluene are also recently becoming increasingly topical in the human diet. Genotype, environment, climate, postharvest handling and processing are among the major factors affecting carotenoids. Thus, in this review, results from several studies on recent developments of carotenoid dietary sources, marketability, biofortification, new insights for the sustainable valorization of food wastes and agro-industrial by-products, human health effects and factors affecting carotenoid concentrations and compositions are critically pinpointed and briefly discussed. Lastly, research needs, mainly on crop biofortification, waste valorization, therapeutic properties are highlighted so as to enhance carotenoid production and nutritional values with potentially significant health benefits.

Keywords

• Affecting factor
• Biofortification
• Carotenoids
• Health function
• Carotenoid marketing
• Valorization