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The color difference in orbital fat
B S Sires1, J C Saari, G G Garwin
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington, Campus Box 356485, Seattle, WA 98195-6485, USA. bsires@u.washington.edu
Objective:
To identify and quantify carotenoids found in white and yellow orbital fat.
Methods:
Specimens of nasal (white) and preaponeurotic (yellow) orbital fat were obtained from patients during upper eyelid blepharoplasty. Carotenoids and retinoids were extracted and subjected to spectral and high-performance liquid chromatography analyses.
Results:
The chromophore content of extracts from unsaponified fat, as measured by absorbance at 425 nm per gram of fat, was 2- to 4-fold higher in preaponeurotic fat than in nasal fat. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis from enzymatically digested fat revealed large amounts of lutein, beta-carotene, and retinol and small amounts of other unidentified carotenoids. The amount of beta-carotene and lutein in preaponeurotic fat was approximately 4-fold higher than in nasal fat.
Conclusions:
The higher carotenoid content of preaponeurotic fat might cause it to be more yellow than other orbital fat, and lutein and beta-carotene might be selectively absorbed from plasma by preaponeurotic fat.
Clinical Relevance:
The results provide baseline information for studies of the physiological features of orbital fat in normal and diseased conditions.
