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, daffodils, and egg yolks. Over 1,100 identified carotenoids can be further categorized into two classes xanthophylls (which contain oxygen) and carotenes (which are purely hydrocarbons and contain no oxygen). Some 40 to 50 carotenoids found in fruits and vegetables are consumed in the human diet.
All are derivatives of tetraterpenes, meaning that they are produced from 8 isoprene units and contain 40 carbon atoms. In general, carotenoids absorb wavelengths ranging from 400 to 550 nanometers (violet to green light). This causes the compounds to be deeply colored yellow, orange, or red. Carotenoids are the dominant pigment in autumn leaf coloration of about 15-30% of tree species, but many plant colors, especially reds and purples, are due to polyphenols.
Carotenoids serve two key roles in plants and algae: they absorb light energy for use in photosynthesis, and they provide photoprotection via non-photochemical quenching. Carotenoids that contain unsubstituted beta-ionone rings (including β-carotene, α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, and γ-carotene) have vitamin A activity (meaning that they can be converted to retinol). In the eye, lutein, meso-zeaxanthin, and zeaxanthin are present as macular pigments whose importance in visual function, as of 2026, remains under clinical research.
Structure and function
Carotenoids are produced by all photosynthetic organisms and are primarily used as accessory pigments to chlorophyll in the light-harvesting part of photosynthesis.
They are highly unsaturated with conjugated double bonds, which enables carotenoids to absorb light of various wavelengths. At the same time, the terminal groups regulate the polarity and properties within lipid membranes.
Most carotenoids are tetraterpenoids, regular C40 isoprenoids. Several modifications to these structures exist: including cyclization, varying degrees of saturation or unsaturation, and other functional groups. Carotenes typically contain only carbon and hydrogen, i.e., they are hydrocarbons. Prominent members include α-carotene, β-carotene, and lycopene, are known as carotenes. Carotenoids containing oxygen include lutein and zeaxanthin. They are known as xanthophylls. Their color, ranging from pale yellow through bright orange to deep red, is directly related to their structure, especially the length of the conjugation. Xanthophylls are often yellow, giving their class name.
Carotenoids also participate in different types of cell signaling. They are able to signal the production of abscisic acid, which regulates plant growth, seed dormancy, embryo maturation and germination, cell division and elongation, floral growth, and stress responses.
Photophysics Carotenoids inherit majority of their photophysical properties from polyenes. After absorption of a photon, they are promoted to the second excited electronic state (S2). This state undergoes ultrafast relaxation (hundreds of femtoseconds or faster) to the first excited state (S1) that may be mediated by certain intermediate electronic states. β-carotene dissolved in benzene has 8 ps S1 state relaxation time. The length of the multiple conjugated double bonds determines their color and photophysics, the UV-vis absorption band shifts to red for longer carotenoids. There is a rule of thumb saying that the S1 state lifetime in carotenoids shortens approximately by a factor of two when the central conjugated bond system is extended by additional C=C bond. Presence of additional groups on terminal rings does not affect the S1 state unless carotenoid is surrounded by polar environment.
Light harvesting and photoprotection After absorbing a photon, the carotenoid transfers its excited electron to chlorophyll for use in photosynthesis. Upon absorption of light, carotenoids transfer excitation energy to and from chlorophyll. The singlet-singlet energy transfer is a lower energy state transfer and is used during photosynthesis. The triplet-triplet transfer is a higher energy state and is essential in photoprotection. Light produces damaging species during photosynthesis, with the most damaging being reactive oxygen species (ROS). As these high energy ROS are produced in the chlorophyll the energy is transferred to the carotenoid's polyene tail and undergoes a series of reactions in which electrons are moved between the carotenoid bonds in order to find the most balanced (lowest energy) state for the carotenoid.
Carotenoids defend plants against singlet oxygen, by both energy transfer and by chemical reactions. They also protect plants by quenching triplet chlorophyll. By protecting lipids from free-radical damage, which generate charged lipid peroxides and other oxidised derivatives, carotenoids support crystalline architecture and hydrophobicity of lipoproteins and cellular lipid structures, hence oxygen solubility and its diffusion therein.
Structure-property relationships Like some fatty acids, carotenoids are lipophilic due to the presence of long unsaturated aliphatic chains. As a consequence, carotenoids are typically present in plasma lipoproteins and cellular lipid structures.
Regulation
The regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis is influenced by various factors, including: Gene expression: many carotenoid biosynthetic genes are upregulated by light, enhancing the expression of PSY and subsequently increasing carotenoid production. Hormonal regulation: plant hormones, such as auxins and abscisic acid, modulate carotenoid biosynthesis. Notably, abscisic acid enhances carotenoid accumulation under stress conditions.Jiang, Y., Liang, G., & Yu, D. (2012). Activated expression of WRKY57 confers drought tolerance in Arabidopsis. Molecular Plant, 5(6), 1375-1388. https://doi.org/10.1093/mp/sss080 Environmental factors: stressors, like drought or pathogens, can trigger carotenoid accumulation as a protective response, thereby enhancing plant resilience.
Morphology Carotenoids are located primarily outside the cell nucleus in different cytoplasm organelles, lipid droplets, cytosomes and granules. They have been visualised and quantified by raman spectroscopy in an algal cell.
With the development of monoclonal antibodies to trans-lycopene it was possible to localise this carotenoid in different animal and human cells.
Foods Beta-carotene, found in pumpkins, sweet potato, carrots and winter squash, is responsible for their orange-yellow colors. Dried carrots have the highest amount of carotene of any food per 100-gram serving, measured in retinol activity equivalents (provitamin A equivalents). Vietnamese gac fruit contains the highest known concentration of the carotenoid lycopene. Although green, kale, spinach, collard greens, and turnip greens contain substantial amounts of beta-carotene. The diet of flamingos is rich in carotenoids, imparting the orange-colored feathers of these birds.
Carotenoids, especially provitamin A carotenoids, such as β-carotene, are essential for human health, supporting vision, particularly in low-light conditions, participating in immune functions,Chew, B. P., & Park, J. S. (2004). Carotenoid action on the immune response. The Journal of Nutrition, 134(1), 257S-261S. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/134.1.257S and contributing to skin health.Stahl, W., & Sies, H. (2012). β-Carotene and other carotenoids in protection from sunlight. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 96(5), 1179S-1184S. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.112.034819 The involvement of carotenoids in affecting cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers is uncertain.
Some preliminary research indicated that foods high in carotenoids may reduce the risk of head and neck cancers and prostate cancer.
There is no correlation between consumption of foods high in carotenoids and vitamin A and the risk of Parkinson's disease.
Humans and other animals are mostly incapable of synthesizing carotenoids, and must obtain them through their diet. Carotenoids are a common and often ornamental feature in animals. It has been proposed that carotenoids are used in ornamental traits (for extreme examples see puffin birds) because, given their physiological and chemical properties, they can be used as visible indicators of individual health, and hence are used by animals when selecting potential mates. Chickens store carotenoids inside of their egg yolks giving them their yellow-orange colour. The intensity of that colour is directly related to the levels of carotenoids in a hen's diet.
Carotenoids from the diet are stored in the fatty tissues of animals, and exclusively carnivorous animals obtain the compounds from animal fat. In the human diet, absorption of carotenoids is improved when consumed with fat in a meal. Cooking carotenoid-containing vegetables in oil and shredding the vegetable both increase carotenoid bioavailability.
Plant colors
The most common carotenoids include lycopene and the vitamin A precursor β-carotene. In plants, the xanthophyll lutein is the most abundant carotenoid and its role in preventing age-related eye disease is currently under investigation. Lutein and the other carotenoid pigments found in mature leaves are often not obvious because of the masking presence of chlorophyll. When chlorophyll is not present, as in autumn foliage, the yellows and oranges of the carotenoids are predominant. For the same reason, carotenoid colors often predominate in ripe fruit after being unmasked by the disappearance of chlorophyll.
Carotenoids are responsible for the brilliant yellows and oranges that tint deciduous foliage (such as dying autumn leaves) of certain hardwood species, such as hickory, ash, maple, and alder. Carotenoids are the dominant pigment in autumn leaf coloration of about 15-30% of tree species. However, the reds, the purples, and their blended combinations that decorate autumn foliage usually come from another group of pigments in the cells called anthocyanins. Unlike the carotenoids, these pigments are not present in the leaf throughout the growing season, but are actively produced towards the end of summer.
Bird colors and sexual selection Dietary carotenoids and their metabolic derivatives are responsible for bright yellow to red coloration in birds. Studies estimate that around 2956 modern bird species display carotenoid coloration and that the ability to utilize these pigments for external coloration has evolved independently many times throughout avian evolutionary history. Carotenoid coloration exhibits high levels of sexual dimorphism, with adult male birds generally displaying more vibrant coloration than females of the same species.
These differences arise due to the selection of yellow and red coloration in males by female preference. In many species of birds, females invest greater time and resources into raising offspring than their male partners. Therefore, it is imperative that female birds carefully select high quality mates. Current literature supports the theory that vibrant carotenoid coloration is correlated with male quality—either though direct effects on immune function and oxidative stress, or through a connection between carotenoid metabolizing pathways and pathways for cellular respiration.