Magnesium carbonate

Methanol (MeOH), hydrochloric acid (HCl), sodium carbonate, sodium sulphate, acetone, phosphate buffered saline (PBS) were purchased from Mallinckrodt Chemicals (Phillipsburg, NJ). Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, quercetin, ascorbic acid, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid and syringic acid, xanthophyll, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, dichlorofluorescein- diacetate (DCFH-DA), were purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). 2, 2-Azobis-amidinopropane (ABAP) was purchased from Wako Chemicals (Richmond, VA). Gallic acid was purchased from ICN Biomedical Inc. (Costa Mesa, CA). Ethyl acetate, triflouroacetic acid, and ethanol were purchased from Mallinckrodt (Paris, KS). Sodium hydroxide, hexane, acetonitrile, magnesium carbonate, tetrahydrofuran were obtained from Fisher Scientific (Pittsburgh, PA). MDA human breast cancer cell lines and HepG2 liver cancer cell lines are provided by the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Rockville, MD). Williams’ medium E (WME), α-MEM, Hanks’ Blanced Salt Solution (HBSS) were purchased from Gibco Life Technologies, and Fetal bovine serum (FBS) was purchased from Atlanta Biologicals (Lawrenceville, GA).

All centrifuge tubes, storage tubes, and mixing devices were obtained from VWR, ethanol (95%) and magnesium carbonate (MgCO₃) were obtained from Fisher Scientific, and non-stabilized hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (and aliquoted and stored at -80°C upon receipt). All media and buffers were autoclaved at 121°C for 30 min or sterile filtered (0.22 μm); pure water (18 MΩ cm^-1) was used throughout.

Methanol (MeOH), diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran (THF), methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), and acetone were purchased from VWR International (Radnor, Pensilvania, USA); ultrapure water was obtained from a Millipak^® Express 40 system (Merk-Millipore, Darmstadt, Germany); anhydrous sodium sulfate, potassium hydroxide (KOH), and sodium chloride (NaCl) were purchased from Panreac Quimica (Barcelona, Spain); butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and magnesium carbonate were obtained from Acros Organics (New Jersey, USA). Standards for lycopene (L9879, ≥90%, from tomato), lutein (X6250 from marigold), and (all-E)-β-apo-8’-carotenal (10810, ≥96%, (ultraviolet (UV))) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Missouri, USA). Standards for (all-E)-β-carotene (HPLC 96%, synth., cryst.), (all-E)-α-carotene (HPLC 97%, synth., cryst.), (all-E)-β-cryptoxanthin (HPLC 97%, synth., cryst.), (all-E)-zeaxanthin (HPLC 97%, synth., cryst.), (all-E)-neoxanthin (HPLC 97%, isolated, cryst.), and (all-E)-violaxanthin (HPLC 95%, isolated, cryst.) were from CaroteNature (Ostermundigen, Switzerland). Reagents used for microscopy (neutral red (N7005, ≥90% and calcofluor white stain) were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (St Louis, MO, USA).