carotenoid metabolism as a preparation for function

Abstract

Much is now known of the functions, and possible functions, of natural carotenoids and of how these relate to carotenoid structure. Becoming better understood is the dependence of many of these functions in both plants and animals on the generalized structure of carotenoids, and of specialized functions in many species on the structures of specific carotenoids. Much is understood, too, of carotenoid biosynthesis in plants and microorganisms, and of how carotenoids are metabolized in animals. It is therefore now appropriate to consider the extent to which carotenoid biosynthesis in the plant kingdom, and the further modifications which dietary carotenoids undergo in the animal kingdom, have evolved in order to form a wide variety of functional molecules. The formation of their structural characteristics will be surveyed against a background of different species and the functions of carotenoids in those species, presenting a picture of carotenoid metabolism as being a deliberate preparation for carotenoid function. © 1991 IUPAC