Carotenoids Food Sources, Production and Health Benefits

Carotenoids are the most widespread pigments in nature. One or more carotenoids in combination give rise to colours ranging from yellow to red in birds, fishes, crustaceans, micro-organisms, fruits and plants, including the dark green ones. There are over 600 known carotenoids and they are divided into two classes: xanthophylls, which contain oxygen, and carotenes, which are purely hydrocarbons and contain no oxygen. Carotenoids have many health benefits including antioxidant properties, free-radical scavengers, decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, anti-inflammatory properties, osteoporosis prevention and other diseases. The 15 chapters in this book have been written to outline recent topical research.