Carotenoids from marigold (Tagetes erecta) petals and their esterified fatty acids

The main carotenoid in Tagetes erecta petals is lutein, which is found either free or esterified to one or two fatty acids. Column and thin-layer chromatographic methods are described for the separation of the different lutein species, and compared to other, previously published, techniques. In addition, fatty acid distributions are given for whole marigold plants, crude carotenoid extracts and purified mono and diesterified luteins obtained from fresh petals as well as from commercial powdered petal preparations.