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| β-CAROTENE |
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INTRODUCTION:
β-carotene are naturally occurring pigments that are responsible for the different colors of fruits, vegetables and other plants. These are chemicals of molecular weight 536.87 g/mol with significant commercial interest which are used as coloring agents in neutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and foods. β-carotene serves as an essential nutrient and has high demand in the market as a natural food coloring agent, as an additive to cosmetics and also as a health food. It functions as an accessory light harvesting pigment, thereby protecting the photosynthetic apparatus against photo damage in all green plants including algae. β-carotene, a component of photosynthetic reaction centre is accumulated as lipid globules in the interthylakoid spaces of the chloroplasts in Dunaliella sp.
APPLICATIONS:
Besides its physiological function, β-carotene has a wide range of applications as:
1.Food coloring agent.
2.Source of vitamin A in animal feed.
3.Enhances yolk color in vitamin A deficient chicken.
4.Possess antioxidant activity by quenching singlet oxygen, scavenge peroxyradicals and inhibit lipid peroxidation.
5.Prevent cancer of various organs like stomach, cervix, pancreas, colon, rectum, breast, lungs, prostate and ovary.
6.Influence intracellular communication.
7.Regulates immune response by increasing the percentage of monocytes and enhances natural killer cell activity in elderly men.
8.Involved in neoplastic transformation and control of growth.
9.Metabolites of carotenoids like retinol, apocarotenoids, ketones, aldehydes and epoxides influence the metabolic pathway.
10.Hepatoprotective.
11.Decrease sensitivity to sun and protect against erythropoietic protoporphyria.
12.Beneficial against scleroderma, a connective tissue disorder.
The potential ability of β-carotene as an antioxidant and immunomodulatory agent led to more active researches on its application for the prevention of human cancers. It is thought to protect against tumour formation by down-regulating epidermal growth factor receptors.
Algae producing β-carotene:
β-carotene is synthesized in high quantity in Dunaliella salina. Other species producing β-carotene were, Chlorococcum sp, Hematococcus pluvialis and Spirulina sp
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