Modern application of xanthophylls in animal feeding – a review

Most consumers associate colour of food with age and health status of animals and food quality in consequence. Xanthophylls are widely used as feed additives to generate products meeting consumers' demands. Although a lot of xanthophylls with interesting biological properties are found in nature, only a few are actually of industrial importance as feed additives. Therefore, this paper reviews the application of xanthophylls in poultry farming and in aquaculture (trout and salmon), referring to natural (e.g. lutein from Tagetes erecta) as well as synthetic (e.g. canthaxanthin) xanthophylls. Additionally, an overview about the legal position in the European Union is given.