Marigold is a 1-year herbaceous plant of the genus Asteraceae, also known as stinky hibiscus, wormwood, and Wanshou lamp. It is harvested in summer and autumn. Its stems are stout and erect, the leaf margins have glands, release odor, and the flower heads are solitary. , yellow to orange. Marigolds are native to Mexico, with fewer pests and diseases and stronger survivability. Marigold flowers can be used as the main plant-based source for extracting lutein, and the human body can obtain lutein through food intake, which has the effect of preventing age-related macular degeneration. Marigold flower extract lutein can also prevent a variety of chronic diseases, and has the functions of anti-cancer, anti-cardiovascular disease and improving immunity.
Physiological activity of Marigold flower extract lutein
1. Antioxidant activity
The flowers of marigold are the main raw materials for lutein extraction. Lutein, as a class of tetraterpenoids, is rich in conjugated double bonds and has a strong ability to scavenge free radicals, which can effectively prevent oxygen free radicals from affecting cells. destroy. Some scholars have studied and analyzed the scavenging effect of marigold lutein on peroxides, superoxide anions, hydroxyl radicals and lipid radicals by chemiluminescence, and found that lutein has a strong scavenging effect on the above-mentioned free radicals.
The synergistic antioxidant activity of two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, was studied by comprehensively using two methods based on in vitro antioxidant and in vivo antioxidant damage model based on ethanol oxidative damage in mice. The synergistic antioxidant effect was better when the ratio of xanthin was 1:2. In studying the relationship between lutein and brain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) oxidation, it was found that mitochondrial lutein was inversely correlated with docosatetraenoic acid (DHA) oxidation products, and subcellular lobes The accumulation of flavin and its relationship with DHA oxidation in primate brain suggest that lutein may be involved in the antioxidant function in the brain.
2. Anti-tumor
In recent years, domestic and foreign studies have found that lutein in marigold has the effect of inhibiting colon cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer and other tumor cells. Relevant studies have shown that the anti-tumor effect of lutein is mainly achieved through its inhibition of tumor cell proliferation and induction of differentiation, induction of tumor cell apoptosis, immune regulation, and antioxidant activity. Studies have shown that lutein can inhibit the proliferation of esophageal cancer EC9706 cells to a certain extent and induce the apoptosis of EC9706 cells. The effect of lutein on inhibiting the proliferation of human hepatoma HepG2 cells and related molecular mechanisms were studied and analyzed, and it was found that lutein could affect the transcriptional expression of AP-1, p53, and caspase-3 genes and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins, thereby inhibiting hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2. proliferation of cells.
In addition, two flavonoids extracted and isolated from the stems and leaves of marigold can inhibit the proliferation of human gastric cancer cells SGC7901 and human liver cancer cells SMMC7721, and confirmed their anti-cancer and anti-cancer activities in vitro.
3. Inhibit cardiovascular disease
The accumulation of cholesterol and LDL (lipoprotein) in the human body is an important cause of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Relevant epidemiological, in vitro experiments and animal model studies have shown that marigold lutein can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases to a certain extent by preventing the occurrence of atherosclerosis. It was found that lutein can inhibit Aβ25-35-induced toxicity by regulating the expression of Nrf-2 and NF-κB in cerebral vascular endothelial cells (bEND.3 cells), and improve mitochondrial membrane potential and cell activity. Through mouse animal experiments, it was found that lutein can improve atherosclerosis and hepatic steatosis in apoE-/- mice induced by high-fat feeding by regulating lipid metabolism and improving oxidative stress. Studies have found that lutein extracted from marigold can achieve anti-atherosclerosis effects by regulating blood lipid metabolism, increasing plasma NO and cGMP levels, and reducing ET production.
In addition, the lutein in marigold can not only have a protective effect on visual diseases such as age-related macular
degeneration and cataract, but also found that marigold extract can relieve visual fatigue, reduce eye swelling, eye pain, photophobia, visual acuity It can improve the symptoms of visual fatigue such as blurring and dry eyes. Marigold hydroalcoholic extract helps reduce diabetic complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, cardiovascular disease, and therapeutic doses of marigold extract also help improve body weight.
