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β-Carotene (beta-carotene) is an organic, strongly colored red-orange pigment abundant in fungi, [7] plants, and fruits. It is a member of the carotenes , which are terpenoids (isoprenoids), synthesized biochemically from eight isoprene units and thus having 40 carbons .
Beta-carotene, found in pumpkins, sweet potato, carrots and winter squash, is responsible for their orange-yellow colors. [3] Dried carrots have the highest amount of carotene of any food per 100-gram serving, measured in retinol activity equivalents (provitamin A equivalents).
This is a list of antioxidants naturally occurring in food. Vitamin C and vitamin E – which are ubiquitous among raw plant foods – are confirmed as dietary antioxidants, whereas vitamin A becomes an antioxidant following metabolism of provitamin A beta-carotene and cryptoxanthin.
Vitamin A occurs as two principal forms in foods: A) retinoids, found in animal-sourced foods, either as retinol or bound to a fatty acid to become a retinyl ester, and B) the carotenoids α-carotene (alpha-carotene), β-carotene, γ-carotene (gamma-carotene), and the xanthophyll beta-cryptoxanthin (all of which contain β-ionone rings) that ...
Astaxanthin / æ s t ə ˈ z æ n θ ɪ n / is a keto-carotenoid within a group of chemical compounds known as carotenoids or terpenes. [3] [4] [5] Astaxanthin is a metabolite of zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin, containing both hydroxyl and ketone functional groups.
The two primary isomers of carotene, α-carotene and β-carotene, differ in the position of a double bond (and thus a hydrogen) in the cyclic group at one end (the right end in the diagram at right). β-Carotene is the more common form and can be found in yellow , orange , and green leafy fruits and vegetables .
First reported in 1953, it was discovered to occur in small quantities when the fungus Phycomyces blakeseeanus was grown with diphenylamine, a compound that inhibits the synthesis of beta-carotene. [ 2 ]
Aside from tomatoes or tomato products like ketchup, it is found in watermelons, grapefruits, red guavas, and baked beans. [4] It has no vitamin A activity. [4]In plants, algae, and other photosynthetic organisms, lycopene is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of many carotenoids, including beta-carotene, which is responsible for yellow, orange, or red pigmentation, photosynthesis, and ...