Chemistry and Biotechnology of Carotenoids

Abstract

Carotenoids are one of the most widespread groups of pigments in nature and more than 600 of these have been identified. Beside provitamin A activity, carotenoids are important as antioxidants and protective agents against various diseases. They are isoprenoids with a long polyene chain containing 3 to 15 conjugated double bonds, which determines their absorption spectrum. Cyclization at one or both ends occurs in hydrocarbon carotene, while xanthophylls are formed by the introduction of oxygen. In addition, modifications involving chain elongation, isomerization, or degradation are also found. The composition of carotenoids in food may vary depending upon production practices, post-harvest handling, processing, and storage. In higher plants they are synthesized in the plastid. Both mevalonate dependent and independent pathway for the formation of isopentenyl diphosphate are known. Isopentenyl diphosphate undergoes a series of addition and condensation reactions to form phytoene, which gets converted to lycopene. Cyclization of lycopene either leads to the formation of β-carotene and its derivative xanthophylls, β-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, antheraxanthin, and violaxanthin or α-carotene and lutein. Even though most of the carotenoid biosynthetic genes have been cloned and identified, some aspects of carotenoid formation and manipulation in higher plants especially remain poorly understood. In order to enhance the carotenoid content of crop plants to a level that will be required for the prevention of diseases, there is a need for research in both the basic and the applied aspects.

Hen egg carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) and nutritional impacts on human health: a review

“…This means that profile of egg yolk carotenoids may vary significantly from country to country due to variable feed utilizations as per the feed regulations and the rearing system (Hargitai et al, 2006;Namitha & Negi, 2010;Nimalaratne et al, 2013). For example, in table eggs, from hens raised under traditional commercial conditions, six carotenoids are present at the greatest concentration.…”

Efficacy of cinnamon oil to prolong the shelf-life of pasteurised, acidified, and ambient stored papaya pulp

“…It has been reported that hydroperoxides are neutralized by the cinnamon in a concentration dependant manner (BAroty et al, 2010). The low β-carotene content of unpasteurized samples observed in the present study may probably be due to oxidation, as oxidation is the major cause of carotenoid destruction during storage and processing (NAmithA & Negi, 2010).…”

Phylogenetic Profiling and Diversity of Bacterial Communities in the Death Valley, an Extreme Habitat in the Atacama Desert

“…We do not presume that the bacteria that we have detected are indigenous to the Atacama Desert, but however, our data revealed that novel bacteria taxa could be isolated from these soils, representing promising biotechnological opportunities. There are several studies concerning the biotechnological applications of products synthesized by bacterium isolated from the Atacama Desert as antimicrobial agents, carotenoids or pigments, with many biological functions that can be exploited in the medicine, health foods, the foods industry, and cosmetic formulations [36,50]. Overall, the Fig.…”