玉米黄质的研究进展及展望

玉米黄质是天然的类胡萝卜素之一，因最先在玉米中被提取而得名。鉴于玉米黄质在预防老年性黄斑变性（致盲的主要原因）、白内障、心血管疾病和癌症等方面起着重要的作用，且人体自身不能合成它，只能从膳食中获得，人们开始对作物中的玉米黄质的研究重视起来。此文结合国内外最新的研究进展对玉米黄质的性质和来源，它的生理功能和生物合成以及玉米黄质的提取、测定方法和在食品工业等方面的应用进行了综述，并对目前富含玉米黄质作物的研究工作的重点做了展望。

Research Progress and Prospects of Zeaxanthin

Zeaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment, which was named from maize where it was first extracted. Because it couldn’t be synthesized by human, and it was obtained only from daily dietary food, and could not only protect eyes, but also played an important role in the prevention of aged-related macular degeneration (AMD, the leading cause of blindness), cataract, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and so on, people paid more attention to zeaxanthin in crops. In this study, the properties and source of zeaxanthin, its physiological functions and its biosynthesis pathway were summarized according to new progress. Moreover, its extraction, measurement methods and application in food industry were also reviewed. In addition, studies on zeaxanthin-rich crops were discussed.