Lycopene is the fat-soluble pigment that gives tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, and other foods their red color. Bioavailability of lycopene is enhanced in the presence of lipids and thermal processing. Lycopene accounts for about 50% of the carotenoids found in human serum and is among the major carotenoids present in human milk. The antioxidant activity of lycopene and its use in cancer prevention and cardiovascular disease have been widely documented. The scientific literature documents some adverse reactions, such as diarrhea, dyspepsia, gas, nausea, and vomiting. One trial documented a cancer-related hemorrhage in a patient taking lycopene, although causality is unclear. Lycopene interacts with some cancer chemotherapy agents, as well as with ciprofloxacin and olestra.

Erythorbic acid, an epimer of L-ascorbic acid, is used in the United States as a food additive. It was studied, that erythorbic acid enhanced of iron absorption and could play a major role in enhancing iron bioavailability from mixed diets that include foods preserved with erythorbic acid. In addition, was investigated if the erythorbic acid could influence on the metabolism of vitamin C in young women, and obtained results showed, that prolonged ingestion of erythorbic acid had no effect on vitamin C uptake or clearance from the body.

Sucralose (sold commercially as Splenda), a water-soluble chlorocarbohydrate, is a sweetener used to sweeten food, beverages, medications, etc., such as sugar, saccharine or other low-calorie synthetic products. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is approved in USA by FDA under Chapter I-Food and Drug administration as a multipurpose additive permitted for direct addition to food for human consumption. Splenda is stated to be safe for use by subjects with type 2 diabetes since it does not effect glucose homeostasis in these patients. There is one ongoing clinical trial on effect and safety of sucralose in patients with type 2 diabetes in intensive insulin therapy.

Calcium Acid Pyrophosphate (CAPP) is an anhydrous phosphate salt. Calcium Acid Pyrophosphate is used mainly as a raising agent in the baking industry, particularly in quick breads and sweet bakery products. CAPP can be used in baking powder, cakes, muffins, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, donuts, whole grain bread, crackers, refrigerated and frozen (yeast) doughs, and for dough strengthening. It is also utilized as a complementary nutrient source for calcium, which can potentially improve the nutritional content of the food it’s used in. No health studies currently argue against the use of Calcium Acid Pyrophosphate. In addition, CAPP can be used as a poultry scald agent to remove feathers from poultry carcasses.

Sorbitan tristearate (E492) is used as an emulsifier and stabiliser. It is produced by the esterification of sorbitol with commercial stearic acid derived from food fats and oils.It is a mixture of the partial esters of sorbitol and its mono- and dianhydride with edible stearic acid. It is permitted as a food additive in bakery products, toppings and coatings, fat emulsions, milk and cream analogues, beverage whiteners, edible ices, desserts, sugar confectionery including chocolate, emulsified sauces, dietary food supplements, chewing gum and dietetic foods.

Lutein is a xanthophyll and one of 600 known naturally occurring carotenoids. Lutein is synthesized only by plants and like other xanthophylls is found in high quantities in green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale and yellow carrots. In green plants, xanthophylls act to modulate light energy and serve as non-photochemical quenching agents to deal with triplet chlorophyll (an excited form of chlorophyll), which is overproduced at very high light levels, during photosynthesis. Xanthophylls are taken for nutritional supplementation, and also for treating dietary shortage or imbalance. Xanthophylls have antioxidant activity and react with active oxygen species, producing biologically active degradation products. They also can inhibit peroxidation of membrane phospholipids and reduce lipofuscin formation, both of which contribute to their antioxidant properties. Lutein is naturally present in the macula of the human retina. It filters out potentially phototoxic blue light and near-ultraviolet radiation from the macula. The protective effect is due in part, to the reactive oxygen species quenching ability of these carotenoids. Lutein is more stable to decomposition by pro-oxidants than are other carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lycopene. Lutein is abundant in the region surrounding the fovea, and lutein is the predominant pigment at the outermost periphery of the macula. Zeaxanthin, which is fully conjugated (lutein is not), may offer somewhat better protection than lutein against phototoxic damage caused by blue and near-ultraviolet light radiation. Lutein is one of only two carotenoids that have been identified in the human lens, may be protective against age-related increases in lens density and cataract formation. Again, the possible protection afforded by lutein may be accounted for, in part, by its reactive oxygen species scavenging abilities. Carotenoids also provide protection from cancer. One of the mechanisms of this is by increasing the expression of the protein connexin-43, thereby stimulating gap junctional communication and preventing unrestrained cell proliferation. Lutein was found to be present in a concentrated area of the macula, a small area of the retina responsible for central vision. The hypothesis for the natural concentration is that lutein helps protect from oxidative stress and high-energy light. Several studies show that an increase in macula pigmentation decreases the risk for eye diseases such as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). There is also epidemiological evidence that increasing lutein and zeaxanthin intake lowers the risk of cataract development. Consumption of more than 2.4 mg of lutein/zeaxanthin daily from foods and supplements was significantly correlated with reduced incidence of nuclear lens opacities, as revealed from data collected during a 13- to 15-year period in the Nutrition and Vision Project (NVP).

Tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) or 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,4-benzenediol is an antioxdant found to inhibit lipid oxidation. Extensive studies have demonstrated that tBHQ exhibit anti-carcinogenic effect. The ability of tBHQ to induce phase II xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes through an Nrf2-dependent pathway is thought to be responsible for the observed protective effect of tBHQ. It has been proposed that tBHQ enhances Nrf2-mediated transcription by promoting reactive oxygen species-mediated dissociation of Nrf2-Keap1, Nrf2 stabilization, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt activity, and MAPK pathway activation. tBHQ has been commonly used as a synthetic food additive to prevent oils and fats from oxidative deterioration and rancidity due to its potent anti-lipid peroxidation activity.

Triethyl citrate is a triester of ethyl alcohol and citric acid. It is a colorless, odorless liquid used as a food additive (E number E1505) to stabilize foams, especially as whipping aid for egg white. Triethyl citrate is a plasticizer, that plays an important role as a dispersing aid in the processing of polylactic acid/chitin nanocrystal (PLA/ChNC) nanocomposites.

Ascorbyl palmitate is a fat soluble vitamin C ester. An ester is simply a compound formed by the combination of an organic acid and an alcohol – in this case it is ascorbic acid and palmitic acid (a fat – which is composed of fatty acids and glycerol - an alcohol). Therefore, ascorbyl palmitate is formed by the esterification of ascorbic acid with palmitic acid to form vitamin C ester. Ascorbyl palmitate is an amphipathic molecule, meaning one end is water-soluble and the other end is fat-soluble. This dual solubility allows it to be incorporated into cell membranes. When incorporated into the cell membranes of human red blood cells, ascorbyl palmitate has been found to protect them from oxidative damage and to protect alpha-tocopherol (a fat-soluble antioxidant) from oxidation by free radicals. Basically, the fat-soluble aspect of ascorbyl palmitate extends vitamin C free radical protection into the fat parts of the body. However, the protective effects of ascorbyl palmitate on cell membranes have only been demonstrated in the test tube (in vitro). Taking ascorbyl palmitate orally may not result in any significant incorporation into cell membranes because most of it appears to be hydrolyzed (broken apart into palmitate and ascorbic acid) in the human digestive tract before it is absorbed. The ascorbic acid released by the hydrolysis of ascorbyl palmitate appears to be as bioavailable as ascorbic acid alone. The presence of ascorbyl palmitate in oral supplements contributes to the ascorbic acid content of the supplement and probably helps protect fat-soluble antioxidants in the supplement. This is also true for food products. Ascorbyl palmitate is used to increase the shelf life of vegetable oils and potato chips. The role of vitamin C in promoting collagen synthesis and its antioxidant properties have generated interest in its use on the skin. Ascorbyl palmitate is frequently used in topical preparations because it is more stable than some aqueous (water-soluble) forms of vitamin C. It is also suggested that this form of vitamin C is better able to penetrate the skin and the thin membrane of cells (due to its dual solubility), which can then go on to help produce collagen and elastin.