Staphyloxanthin is a carotenoid pigment that is produced by some strains of Staphylococcus aureus, and is responsible for the characteristic golden color that gives S. aureus its species name.

It has an antioxidant action that helps the microbe evade death by reactive oxygen species produced by the host immune system.

These tests suggest that the staphyloxanthin may be key to the ability of S. aureus to survive immune system attacks.

Drugs designed to inhibit the bacterium's production of the staphyloxanthin may weaken it and renew its susceptibility to antibiotics.

[2] In fact, because of similarities in the pathways for biosynthesis of staphyloxanthin and human cholesterol, a drug developed in the context of cholesterol-lowering therapy was shown to block S. aureus pigmentation and disease progression in a mouse infection model.