Opportunities for the marine carotenoid value chain from the perspective of fucoxanthin degradation

• Published in: Food chemistry 2022-07, Vol.383, p.132394-132394, Article 132394
• Main Authors: Yusof, Zuhaili, Khong, Nicholas M.H., Choo, Wee Sim, Foo, Su Chern
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: air; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antioxidants; carotenoids; Carotenoids - metabolism; Degradation products; food chemistry; Fucoxanthin; light intensity; Marine carotenoid; Microalgae; nutritive value; Processing; Stability; Storage; supply chain; temperature; transportation; Value chain; Xanthophylls
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.132394

[Display omitted] •Fucoxanthin value chain from microalgae provides economic opportunities.•Fucoxanthin is unstable at acidic pH (pH 2 to 4) and at high temperature (beyond 100 °C).•Light intensity of 6.9 to 42 µmol/m2/s affected fucoxanthin stability.•Continuous exposure to air resulted in lower stability of fucoxanthin.•Research on fucoxanthin degradation products is needed for transportation stage. Marine carotenoids, particularly fucoxanthin, are emerging in the food value chain and gaining traction for their role in delivering health benefits. Unfortunately, the very feature of fucoxanthin which confers its bioactivities also renders it unstable. It is imperative to have a better understanding on the mechanisms involved to mitigate undesirable losses. This paper presented a review on fucoxanthin bioactivities, stability, and opportunities along the value chain specifically during processing, storage, and transportation conditions. For bioactivities, fucoxanthin demonstrated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-obese, antidiabetic as well as skin protective activities. Conditions such as low pH (pH 2 to 4), high temperature (beyond 100 °C), presence of light (light intensity of 6.9 to 42 µmol/m2/s) and continuous air exposure caused fucoxanthin instability which lead to its degradation. This review acts as an antecedent by providing insights and enabling informed decisions for managing unaccounted risks within the carotenoid value chains to minimize losses.