Focus on eye health: analysis of the potential application of carotenoids from goji berries sources

• Differences in carotenoid content between wolfberry and other foods were compared; • Carotenoids and their structural formulae in Goji berries were summarized. • Extraction and purification of carotenoids from Goji berries are summarized. • Changes in carotenoids in Goji berries at different stages were discussed. • Reviewed the mechanism of action of carotenoids in Goji berries for eye health. The eye is one of the important organs for human beings to obtain information from the outside world and avoid harm, and 90% of human knowledge is obtained through the eye. The center of the retina in the human eye is called the macula, and it is the area where vision is most concentrated. Current research suggests that macular pigment is mainly composed of lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso -zeaxanthin, which are able to absorb and attenuate blue light damage to the retina, and since humans cannot synthesize these carotenoids, they must be obtained by supplementing with carotenoid-rich foods. In addition, carotenoids also provide good provitamin A, which provides necessary nutritional support for people’s visual transduction. Therefore, eye health is inseparable from carotenoid supplementation, among which wolfberry, which is rich in a variety of carotenoids, has been confirmed by recent studies to have a good role in promoting eye health, and also provides a good source of natural carotenoids for humans. However, a systematic review of goji berry carotenoids in eye health is lacking in current studies. Based on this, this paper reviews the main carotenoid composition and its extraction and purification in wolfberry, discusses the changes of carotenoids in the process of harvesting and drying wolfberry, reviews the absorption and utilization of carotenoids in wolfberry, and more importantly, discusses the important role of carotenoids in wolfberry in eye health.