Carotene
Videos
The term carotene (also carotin, from the Latin carota, "carrot") is used for many related unsaturated hydrocarbon substances having the formula C40Hx, which are synthesized by plants but in general cannot be made by animals (with the exception of some aphids and spider mites which acquired the synthesizing genes from fungi). Carotenes are photosynthetic pigments important for photosynthesis. Carotenes contain no oxygen atoms. They absorb ultraviolet, violet, and blue light and scatter orange or red light, and (in low concentrations) yellow light.
Carotene is responsible for the orange colour of carrots and the colours of many other fruits and vegetables and even some animals.
Lesser Flamingos in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. The pink colour of wild flamingos is due to astaxanthin (a carotenoid) they absorb from their diet of brine shrimp. If fed a carotene-free diet they become white.
Algae farm ponds in Whyalla, South Australia, used to produce β-carotene
Carotenoid
Videos
Carotenoids are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, canaries, flamingos, salmon, lobster, shrimp, and daffodils. Over 1,100 identified carotenoids can be further categorized into two classes – xanthophylls and carotenes.
Ingesting carotenoid-rich foods affects the plumage of flamingos.
The orange ring surrounding Grand Prismatic Spring is due to carotenoids produced by cyanobacteria and other bacteria.
Yellow and orange leaf colors in autumn are due to carotenoids, which are visible after chlorophyll degrades for the season.