Carotenoid

Name:
Carotenoid
Detailed information:
A class of pigments occurring in the tissues of higher plants, algae, and bacteria, as well as in fungi. Also present in some animals, as squalene in shark liver oil. They include the carotenes and xanthophylls.

Properties:

Yellow to deep-red, crystalline solids. Soluble in fats and oils; insoluble in water; high melting; stable to alkali but unstable to acids and to oxidizing agents; color easily destroyed by hydrogenation or by oxidiation; some are optically active.