Lutein and zeaxanthin content in flowers of french marigold (Tagetes patula L.) Hungarian varieties

French or dwarf marigold (Tagetes patula L.) is a well-known ornamental plant, but also utilized in medicine, cosmetics, agriculture and food industry due to its biologically active components (xanthophylls, carotenes, terpenes, flavonoids, benzofuran derivatives, thiophenes, etc.). Three varieties of Hungarian bred Tagetes patula (’Csemő’, ’Robuszta kénsárga’, ’Orion’) were transplanted into the pot experiment (5.05.2021) in the following conditions and soil mixtures: in the greenhouse in peat-based soil; outside the greenhouse in peat-based soil, outside the greenhouse in a peat-free soil, and hydroponic system in the greenhouse (University of Debrecen, Hungary). At the beginning of June 2021, whole petals were collected from each variety and condition. The lyophilised samples were extracted by ethanol and ultrasonic assisted method. The lutein and zeaxanthin content of the extracted samples were determined by the HPLC instrument. Tagetes patula ’Csemő’ was the richest source of lutein (709.9 - 1359.5 mg/kg based on dry matter), followed by ’Robuszta kénsárga’ (161.4 - 429.7 mg/kg) and ’Orion’ (62.0 - 135.8 mg/kg). The highest lutein concentration was measured in the peat-free soil mixture in the field, in each variety. The concentration of lutein and zeaxanthin were depending on the conditions (greenhouse, field) and the medium (peat-based, peat-free and hydroponics), but in the field, the measured lutein and zeaxanthin content was considerably higher than in the greenhouse in the same type of soil mixture (peat-based)