Eduardo Jacob-Lopes

By Eduardo Jacob-Lopes, Luis Guillermo Ramírez Mérida, Maria Isabel Queiroz and Leila Q. Zepka

Part of the book: Biomass Production and Uses

By Mariany Costa Deprá, Leila Queiroz Zepka and Eduardo Jacob- Lopes

Part of the book: Frontiers in Bioenergy and Biofuels

By Maria Isabel Queiroz, Andrêssa Silva Fernandes, Mariany Costa Deprá, Eduardo Jacob-Lopes and Leila Queiroz Zepka

Part of the book: Chlorophyll

By Stefania Fortes Siqueira, Maria Isabel Queiroz, Leila Queiroz Zepka and Eduardo Jacob-Lopes

Part of the book: Microalgal Biotechnology

By Andrêssa Silva Fernandes, Tatiele Casagrande do Nascimento, Eduardo Jacob-Lopes, Veridiana Vera De Rosso and Leila Queiroz Zepka

Currently, 1178 natural carotenoids have been properly characterized and reported in the literature, which present a huge structural diversity and physicochemical properties. This number comprises a wide distribution of these biomolecules in approximately 700 source organisms including plants, bacteria, fungi, and algae. Besides having a wide applicability as natural dyes, some carotenoids such as β-carotene already have another well-established application such as provitamin A activity. However, due to the structural diversity of these molecules, there are still numerous biochemical and physiological functions to be associated with this class of compounds. Accordingly, these characteristics enable a wide applicability, what drives the global carotenoid market. Thus, with the primary objective of addressing aspects regarding to basic science and applied carotenoid technology, a comprehensive description of the biology, biochemistry, and chemistry of these compounds will be described in this chapter.

Part of the book: Progress in Carotenoid Research