68 Páginas, Carotenoid pigments are responsible for the yellow, orange and red colours of most fruits and vegetables, and also of some animal food sources, including fish, crustaceans and birds. In fruits, the most common native state for the majority of hydroxy-xanthophylls (i.e. carotenoids containing hydroxyl functional groups) is as xanthophyll esters. The in vivo esterification process of xanthophylls is an important part of post-carotenogenesis metabolism and mediates the accumulation of these molecules in plants. Although our understanding of the esterification of xanthophylls with fatty acids is increasing, it is still relatively scarce when compared to the free counterparts. In addition, the biochemical and genetic characterisation of the xanthophyll esterification process is still an open question in the carotenoid field. This chapter presents a compilation of relevant data on the occurrence of xanthophyll esters in foods from plant and animal origins with the aim of contributing to our understanding of this important natural process., This work was supported by funding from the ‘Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades’ (Spanish Government, Projects AGL2014-53195R and AGL2017-85368-P)., Peer reviewed

Hornero-Méndez D. (2020) A Routine Method for the Extraction and HPLC-DAD Profiling of Major Plant and Food Carotenoids. In: Rodríguez-Concepción M., Welsch R. (eds) Plant and Food Carotenoids. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2083. Humana, New York, NY, Carotenoids are ubiquitously present in Nature, and especially in plants and derived foods. The carotenoid profiling is necessary to understand relevant aspects in relation to their biochemistry and genetics, as well as their important roles on human health and animal ecophysiology. Here we propose a simple methodology for the routine extraction and efficient HPLC separation of the most common plant and food carotenoids from plant and animal origins., The author thanks to the Spanish Government (projects AGL2017-85368P and CaRed Network BIO2015-71703-REDT and BIO2017-90877-REDT) for financial support.

3 Figuras.-- 2 Tablas, Carotenoid esterification is a new target for cereal biofortification since esterification increases both accumulation and stability of carotenoids. A xanthophyll acyl transferase is responsible for carotenoid esterification in the endosperm of wheat and related cereals. In this chapter we describe the procedures for transferring the carotenoid esterification attribute into wheat using the wild barley Hordeum chilense as donor of the esterification trait, the outline of the breeding program and the protocols for marker assisted selection and the analysis of carotenoids in grain. Biofortified cereals with increased lutein ester content will help to reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration in human populations with limited access to other dietary sources., This research was funded by project AGL2017-85368-P and by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER “Una Manera de hacer Europa.” M.D.R.-R. was supported by PRE2018-084037 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FSE “EL FSE invierte en tu futuro.”, Peer reviewed