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Article: Carotenoids
- Article from:
- Plant Sciences
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Carotenoids
The carotenoids are red, orange, and yellow pigments synthesized by all green plants and some microbes. They have an essential function in photosynthesis and in attracting the attention of animals. Several of these pigments also have an important nutritional function for animals and some of the familiar colors of animals are derived from plant or microbial carotenoids they consume.
Structure and Occurrence
Carotenoids are synthesized in the plastids of a plant cell and typically contain forty carbon atoms derived from eight subunits of the five-carbon compound, isoprene. Larger and smaller carotenoids do occur. Two categories of carotenoids occur in nature. These are the ...