Carotenoids

Questions like “What are carotenoids?  What does it do to the body?  Where are they found?” are just so common when dealing with carotenoids.   One of the best things to remember about this topic is basically its being a highly colored group, which include red, orange, and yellow, of fat soluble plant pigments.

All creatures, whether bacteria or plants, that mainly depends on the sun as a source of energy greatly contain carotenoids.  The carotenoids are then group of compounds that acquire an antioxidant effects that enable them to play a very vita role in protecting the organisms against damage especially during the onset of photosynthesis, which is the process of transforming the sunlight into chemical energy.

Carotenoids are not only evident in bacteria and plants.  In fact, humans also contain carotenoids which basically play two major roles.  One of those is the fact that all carotenoids exert an antioxidant activity, and the other is that some of them are also transformed into vitamin A.

In the place of the human beings, there are about 600 carotenoids being identified, but only about 30 to 50 of those carotenoids are thought to have engaged in vitamin A activity.  Those carotenoids in the body that are transformed to vitamin A are called as “provitamin A” carotenoids.  And speaking of such kind of carotenoids, beta-carotene and alpha-carotene are the most popular members of this group.   On the other hand, the most common three members of those that without provitamin A activity, but with a very high antioxidant activity are the lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin.

In terms of the uses of carotenoids, it is noted by some preliminary and experimental research studies that a higher dietary intake of these compounds provide a strong protection against the development of particular forms of cancer like, skin, lung, uterine, cervix, and gastrointestinal tract cancers.  Aside from that, they also shield the parts of the body from macular degeneration, cataracts, and other health hazards that are largely associated to oxidative or free radical damages. 

However, there are certain findings that have demonstrated the idea that the supplementation with isolated synthetic beta-carotene does not really decrease the danger brought by lung cancer, and it may even enhance the risk of lung cancer in smokers.  Many experts have considered from such findings that the foods that are high in carotenoids have the possibility to shield against cancer in humans.  One of the possibilities for that holds that carotenoids may need to be taken together with other supportive antioxidants like the vitamin C and vitamin E for the purpose of easily reducing the risk of cancer.  However, there is still no exact evidence to support such stand.

Carotenoids are largely found in all plant foods.  Essentially, the greater the intensity of color is the greater the level of carotenoids.  In the place green leafy vegetables, the beta-carotene is the most evident type and in the orange colored fruits and vegetables, beta –carotene concentrations are typically high.  Today, there are some synthetic beta-carotene supplements that are made available in health food stores, and the mixed carotenoids are also available in supplements that are derived from palm oil, algae, and carrot oil.