ABSTRACT

In nature, there are more than 700 identified carotenoids; they are divided into two groups, carotenes, which have a hydrocarbon structure, and xanthophylls, which contain oxygen atoms in their structure. Carotenoids are a group of natural pigments present in fruits and vegetables that give them their yellow to red colors. All carotenoids possess some common chemical features: a polyisoprenoid structure, a long conjugated chain of double bonds, and a near-bilateral symmetry around the central double bond. Different carotenoids are derived essentially by modification of the base structure via cyclization of the end groups and by the incorporation of oxygen, functions that give them their characteristic colors and antioxidant properties.