3　キサントフィル生体調節機能に着目した健康長寿に役立つ高機能型農産物創出のための研究開発

Summary 　Development of preventive therapies for the diseases related to age and/or metabolic syndrome is a critical mission for us in this super-aging society. To continuously obtain the preventive effects, one of the leading strategies may be the usage of functional foods which have enhanced bioactivity. For this purpose, we promote bio-technological and agricultural researches to obtain appropriate foods for the therapies, as well as scientific researches to reveal and/or confirm the underlying molecular mechanism of the effects and safety. Here, we introduce a movement of using xanthophyll, such as lutein, to prevent eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.