虾青素是一种天然的萜烯类不饱和化合物，其分子结构中含有2个β-紫罗酮环和11个共轭双键。虾青素是自然界中唯一能够通过人体血脑屏障的类胡萝卜素，具有许多对人类健康有益的生理活性。近年来，虾青素因其分子结构所具有极强的抗氧化性在食品、医药、生物、化妆品等领域备受关注。虾青素作为脂溶性小分子在一定环境中会自聚集，从而呈现出不同的存在形式，如黄色的H聚集体、橘色的M单体、粉紫色的J聚集体，不同聚集体的颜色、结构、光学特性、生理活性等都会有巨大差异。本文主要对近十年来虾青素聚集体的形成机理、影响因素、检测方法（紫外可见光光谱法、透射电镜观察法、圆二色光法、拉曼光谱法、荧光光谱法、分子模拟法以及其他研究方法）及应用前景进行总结，以期为今后虾青素聚集体在生理活性和应用方面的研究奠定基础。

Astaxanthin is a natural terpene unsaturated compound, which has two β-ionone ring and eleven conjugated double bonds in the molecular structure. As the only one carotenoid that can pass through the blood-brain barrier, astaxanthin has numerous biological activities beneficial for human health. In recent years, astaxanthin has attracted much attention in the fields of food, medicine, biology and cosmetics due to its excellent antioxidant properties. As a naturally occurring carotenoid, astaxanthin can be spontaneously aggregated in the hydrated organic solvent, thus presenting different forms of existence, such as yellow H aggregates, orange M monomer, and pink-purple J aggregates, and different kinds of carotenoid aggregates could make a big difference in color, structure, optical property, biological activity, and so on. This article mainly focuses on the formation mechanism of aggregates, influence factors, detection methods (ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, circular dichroism, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, molecular simulation method, etc.) and the application prospect of astaxanthin aggregates in recent ten years, in order to lay a foundation for future astaxanthin aggregates physiological activity and application research.

国家自然科学基金青年基金项目（31901677）；河南省高校科技创新团队支持计划资助（19IRTSTHN008）；河南工业大学高层次人才科研启动基金项目（2019BS021）