Table 1.

Factors affecting zeaxanthin bioavailability.

Factor	Bioavailability	Population Studied	Reference
Thermal Processing	↑ lower temperatures	In vitro	[7]
	↑ lower temperatures	In vitro	[8]
	↑ higher temperatures	In vitro	[9]
	↑ higher temperatures	In vitro	[10]
Esterification	↑ esterified vs. Free	12 healthy volunteers	[14]
Esterification	↑ esterified vs. Free	16 healthy volunteers	[15]
Lipids	↑ SFA vs. PUFA	11 hypercholesterolemic men	[20]
	↑ SFA compared to PUFA or MUFA	Rats	[21]
Carbohydrates	↑ SMZ vs. AMZ	48 healthy volunteers	[16]
Eggs	↑ eggs vs. egg substitute	224 volunteers including children, healthy young and old, overweight/obese and metabolic syndrome participants	[22,23,24,25,26,27]

↑—increased; SFA—Saturated fatty acids; PUFA—Polyunsaturated fatty acids; MUFA—Monounsaturated fatty acids; SMZ—crosslinked alginate matrix; AMZ—alginate matrix.