Beta-carotene and carotenoids are widely found in nature with diverse functions.
Carotenoids are not only fat-soluble substances with special nutritional value that have the ability to be converted into essential vitamins, but also a very important class of pigments that provide natural color to animals and plants. At the same time, carotenoids are also an important antioxidant, which are widely used in medicine, health care, food, feed nutrition enhancement and coloring and other aspects.
The current industrialized carotenoids mainly include Beta-carotene, canthaxanthin, lycopene, astaxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein, etc. In this application, Beta-carotene, canthaxanthin and astaxanthin are the most widely used and have the highest added value.
Beta-carotene (C40H56) is an orange-yellow fat-soluble compound, it is the most common and stable natural pigment in the nature, and it belongs to one of the carotenoids. Carrots contain a large amount of beta-carotene, which can be converted into vitamin A after being ingested by the human digestive organs. It is currently the safest product to supplement vitamin A (simply supplementing chemically synthesized vitamin A will cause poisoning in excess). It maintains eye and skin health, improves night blindness, rough skin, and helps protect the body from free radical damage. Beta-carotene is a strong antioxidant vitamin. Its physiological activity of quenching reactive oxygen species and clearing free radicals is 15 times that of vitamin E. It can protect body tissues from the poison of oxidative free radicals.
Beta-carotene is insoluble in water, slightly soluble in vegetable oil, has moderate solubility in aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, and is easily soluble in dichloromethane, acetone, etc. The chemical properties of Beta-carotene are unstable and prone to chlorination and decomposition when exposed to light and heating.
Beta-carotene mainly includes synthetic and natural types, and the natural type is divided into fermentation method and plant extraction method. Limited by the low content and purity of raw materials, the yield of natural Beta-carotene is very small. Compared with the natural type, the synthetic Beta-carotene has a lower price, and the production and market size are relatively large.