Chem. Also 9 -ine. [f. L. lūte-um yolk of egg (neut. of lūteus yellow) + -IN.] A substance of a deep yellow color found in the yolk of eggs and the ovaries of animals.
1869. Thudichum, in Proc. Roy. Soc., XVII. 253. Various parts of animals and plants contain a yellow crystallizable substance … to which … I assign the name ‘luteine.’
1900. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., V. 624. This [absorption band] is indicative of the presence of lutein, to which the colour of the serum is said to be due.
