Lutein from Tagetes erecta

INS 161b(i)

Used as a colour.

Lutein is a yellow carotenoid obtained from marigold petals, used to colour drinks, dairy products and confectionery. The same substance is sold as a dietary supplement for eye health, which is a separate regulatory question from its use as a colour.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Lutein from Tagetes erecta by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

3 food categories

highest permitted level 150 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.1.4 Flavoured Fluid Milk Drinks — 100 mg/kg
  • 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 150 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.7 Fermented vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera) and seaweed products, excluding fermented soybean products of food categories 06.8.6, 06.8.7, 12.9.1, — GMP
CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 161b(i)and 3 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Extracted with solvents from the dried petals of the Aztec marigold, Tagetes erecta, then saponified to free the lutein from the fatty acid esters it occurs as in the flower.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
InChIKey
KBPHJBAIARWVSC-RGZFRNHPSA-N
PubChem
CID 5281243

Every name it appears under

61 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

E number

  • E161
  • E161B

INS number

  • 161b(i)

CAS registry number

  • 127-40-2

Other names

  • ( inverted exclamation markA)-Lutein
  • ()-Lutein
  • (3R,3'R,6'R)-beta,epsilon-carotene-3,3'-diol
  • (3R,3'R,6'R)-Lutein
  • (all-E)-Lutein
  • .beta.,.epsilon.-Carotene-3,3'-diol
  • .beta.,.epsilon.-Carotene-3,3'-diol, (3R,3'R,6'R)-
  • ?-Carotene-3,3'-diol
  • A1LXP
  • all-trans-(+)-Xanthophyll
  • all-trans-Lutein
  • all-trans-Xanthophyll
  • beta,epsilon-Carotene-3, 3'-Diol, (3R,3'R,6'S)-
  • beta,epsilon-Carotene-3,3'-diol
  • beta,epsilon-Carotene-3,3'-diol, (3R,3'R,6'R)-
  • beta,epsilon-Carotene-3,3'-diol, (3S,3'R,6'S)-
  • Bo-Xan
  • e-carotene-3,3'-diol
  • FloraGLO
  • FloraGLO Lutein
  • gamma Lutein
  • INS NO.161B(I)
  • INS-161B(I)
  • Leutein
  • Leutin
  • Lutamax
  • Lutein
  • Lutein (Standard)
  • Lutein (Xanthophyll)
  • Lutein - 10%
  • Lutein - 20%
  • Lutein - 5%
  • Lutein - 50%
  • Lutein - 95%
  • Lutein A
  • Lutein ester
  • LUTEIN FROM TAGETES ERECTA
  • Lutein, 88%
  • Lutein, all-trans-
  • Lutein, analytical standard
  • Lutein, gamma
  • Lutein; Xantofyl
  • Noon for Kids
  • Oro Glo 7
  • trans-Lutein
  • Vegetable lutein
  • Vegetable luteol
  • Xanthophyll (~80%)
  • XANTHOPHYLL [MI]
  • Xanthophyll, all-trans-(+)-
  • Xanthophyll, from marigold
  • Xanthophyll, tech grade
  • Xantofyl

Systematic names

  • (1R)-4-[(1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-18-[(1R,4R)-4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-yl]-3,7,12,16-tetramethyloctadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaenyl]-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-3-en-1-ol
  • (1R,4R)-4-((1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-18-((R)-4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-1-en-1-yl)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyloctadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaen-1-yl)-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-ol
  • (1R,4R)-4-((1E,3E,5E,7E,9E,11E,13E,15E,17E)-18-((R)-4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-1-en-1-yl)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyloctadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaen-1-yl)-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-2-enol
  • 4-(18-(4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohex-2-enyl)-3,7,12,16-tetramethyl-octadeca-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-nonaenyl)-3,5,5-trimethyl-cyclohex-3-en-1-ol

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/lutein-from-tagetes-erecta.json