The studies have produced evidence to suggest that consuming carotenoids may provide a variety of health benefits including a reduced incidence of a number of cancers, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and improved eye health, which evidence on the health benefits of several carotenoids has sparked interest in incorporating more carotenoids into functional food products.
Unfortunately, these compounds have highly sensitive to oxidation; including pathways induced by heat, light, oxygen, acid, transition metal, or interactions with radical species resulting in loss of both product qualities such as color loss, rancidity and bioactivity.
Understanding the mechanisms of carotenoid degradation is essential for developing technologies for the incorporation of these compounds into functional foods.
An alternate possibility for incorporating carotenoids into foods would be to incorporate them into emulsion or nanostructure delivery systems.
In addition, delivery systems could be designed to help decrease the degradation of the carotenoids.